Traders say algorithmic selling exacerbates the decline of U.S. stocks, with opening liquidity showing strong characteristics of liquidation

Last night and this morning, U.S. stocks fell sharply. Wall Street traders mentioned that algorithmic and programmatic selling exacerbated market volatility during this decline. A Goldman Sachs stock trader stated that the pain level of today's market is extremely high. Goldman Sachs trader John Flood pointed out that institutional buying has once again hit a stalemate, and the massive cloud computing positions bought by hedge funds during yesterday's rebound are being rapidly sold off, with no buyers stepping in to take over yet.

Several senior traders described the liquidity state at the opening of U.S. stocks as having strong characteristics of liquidation, noting that algorithmic and CTA fund programmatic selling intensified the initial straight drop without buyers. According to Vanda Research, the scale of retail selling in the first 30 minutes of trading on Thursday set a record for the largest single 30-minute sell-off in recent months, approaching the peak during the retail panic exit at the end of July 2024.