Hi! Dom Futures trader here. I'm thinking about diversifying into SPY, QQQ and equity options. I've been observing the DOM on the SPY, QQQ, AAPL, TSLA and others and noticed that the depth on the DOM jumps around without anyone actually executing against the best bid/ask. I've heard about manipulations, dark pools and the domination of the equities market by quants, but is that the reason? It's almost untradable from a DOM trader perspective. The thing jumps around wilder than most of the thinner markets in Futures.

What is the consensus on the orderbook for equities and what have all y'all personal experiences have been like? Why does it move around wildly without actual market executions? Is it just HFTs trading with each other moving around the depth to be predatory? Is it because it moves a penny per tick? What is going on? Your insights will be much appreciated.

High frequency traders have completely taken over the DOM trading space in stocks. Don't even try - you have zero chance of success against computers in co-located servers that can make 2-3 trades in the time it takes to look at the DOM and process the image in your brain.

drm7 

High frequency traders have completely taken over the DOM trading space in stocks. Don't even try - you have zero chance of success against computers in co-located servers that can make 2-3 trades in the time it takes to look at the DOM and process the image in your brain.

Thanks for your reply. I thought as much; the way the depth 'dances' around is predatory and in agreement with your observations. Thanks for saving me time and money. I've heard about equities being totally taken over by quants/HTFs, but didn't realise how bad it was.