November 10, 2009
It is a well known fact that a stock always closes the gap ups and gap downs at its first opportunity. You can study any number of trading patterns over the years on any number of stocks and you will find this trading pattern almost always holding true. That is because traders have ingrained mentality to trade that way either because of the knowledge of trading patterns or because of sermons by stock trading pattern gurus etc. When shorting only on uptick rule was removed stock gap ups and downs on almost all stocks skyrocketted. Stocks now on any duration ( minutes, daily or weekly) needlessly (and inefficiently and more costly to everybody)trade to close these gap ups and downs. One of the benefits of the uptick rule was stock trading was more orderly with very few gap ups and downs(comparatively speaking) and as a result retraced less and exhibited less volatility trading on a day to day basis. Shorting only on uptick rule played the role of minimising these gap ups and downs superbly. Please implement the uptick rule immediately.
Even if you implement the short only on uptick rule you will never ever erase the feeling among investors and traders that they were ROBBED big time after the removal of the uptick rule and during the TIME IT TOOK to implement it again.
Rememeber what Christopher Cox, the ex-chairman of SEC wrote a senator on the last day of his office. He regretted removal of the uptick rule and mentioned given an opportunity he would implement it as the first order of business. Know why? He knew the consequences of abolishing the rule and he felt Guilty.
The new chairwoman should feel guilty of the time it has taken, if ever it does, to implement this rule back again.