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2003issue C031-2

Opening auction indications, premium and print size

The cash open is handled as one sequence. The fair-value-premium is marked before opening-only-orders are sent, those orders are priced from the specialist opening-indication rather than the live electronic book, and a strong or weak read is taken only when print-composition and volume-confirmation agree.

  • A cash-versus-futures residual is compared with published fair value so the premium or discount is known before any order is placed.
  • Opening-only-orders aimed at gap openings are priced from that premarket premium and from the specialist opening-indication, not from the electronic book.
  • Futures-halt-distortion can misstate the live premium, while a sidecar-curb still leaves premium and discount observable.
  • A strong or weak read is taken only when print-composition and share volume agree, not from either measure alone.
Entries in this reading3 entries
Current trackTape reading21 readingsOpening auction strategy28 readingsVolume confirmation61 readings

One procedure at the cash open

Editorial framing: the archive workflow is taught here as one executable sequence rather than three separate opinions. The fair-value-premium is marked first. Opening-only-orders aimed at gap openings are then priced from that premium and from the specialist opening-indication. After the auction, the first prints are accepted or rejected only when print-composition and volume-confirmation agree on who is participating.

Read the premium before any order

A cash-versus-futures residual is compared with published fair value so the resulting premium or discount can be read before any order is placed. That premarket premium or discount is applied when entering opening-only-orders aimed at gap openings.

Price from the opening indication

Opening indications appear on the quote window immediately before the open. They are distinct from the electronic book, which may not match the specialist's indicated opening range. A quote-color change is used to flag an indicated move of about 35 cents or more away from the prior reference.

Read print composition in the name

When tape-reading a single stock, both the count of prints and the size of each print are treated as more informative than the same statistics for the whole market. A tape of about 500 prints in the 300-to-1,000-share range is read as public-scale-tape, meaning public participation. A tape of about 100 prints of 10,000 shares or larger is read as institutional-scale-tape, meaning institutional activity on top of public interest.

Confirm with volume, not instead of it

Share volume is treated as a confirmation of market enthusiasm and generally expands with news or earnings, up or down, relative to a status-quo session. A strong or weak market read is taken only when volume and print-count composition agree, not from either measure alone.

Educational research material, not investment advice. Historical source context does not establish present-day performance.
4 of 20 in the Tape reading track
20031-1 pp.Next on Tape readingListed open order routing and the short-sale tapeTreat a missed listed open as an order-routing problem: display first, then standing time and size on the printing venue, then whether the tape showed a constrained short.
All readings on this track · 20 readings
  1. 1986Open outcry hand signals as order routing
  2. 1989Finishing a market order in a first index-pit session
  3. 2001Ticket charges, internalization, and hidden size on the tape
  4. 2003Opening auction indications, premium and print size
  5. 2003Listed open order routing and the short-sale tape
  6. 2003Opening indication, one-sided envelope, and the sector tape check
  7. 2003Opening auction fills and the post-print tape
  8. 2004Specialist prints, opening exits and live tape filters
  9. 2005A tape-reading case study of support, resistance, and breakout confirmation
  10. 2005Tape flips versus idle capital: a process critique
  11. 2005Read the tape, name the liquidity job, then route for price
  12. 2006Fill entitlement, hybrid routing, and pairs sequencing
  13. 2006Alerts over resting stops, with tape-reading at the exit
  14. 2006When crowd levels diverge from Fibonacci support
  15. 2008Perfect prints before the chart
  16. 2008Hidden size, tape delay, and pairs shorts belong in the trade rule
  17. 2010Inside the spread: why OHLC bars hide the buy-sell shift
  18. 2010Specialist pair books sized for dividends and tape
  19. 2016Tape reading as judgment under distraction
  20. 2018Tape-reading breakouts with increment stops
By fieldAuction and volume75 readingsBy year2003164 readings
All 21 readings tagged Tape reading
Also on Tape reading5 readings
2003Listed open order routing and the short-sale tape2003Opening auction fills and the post-print tape2003Opening indication, one-sided envelope, and the sector tape check2004Specialist prints, opening exits and live tape filters1986Open outcry hand signals as order routing