Opinion: Algorithmic and programmatic selling led to a sharp plunge in US stocks, with liquidity conditions at the open exhibiting 'highly liquidation-like characteristics'.

BlockBeats news, November 6th: Last night and into this morning, US stocks suffered a bloodbath, with the market in widespread anguish. Wall Street traders, commenting on today's plunge, said algorithmic and programmatic selling exacerbated market volatility.

A Goldman Sachs equity trader bluntly described today's market action as "extremely painful." Goldman Sachs top trader John Flood pointed out that long-only institutions have once again fallen into a stalemate, and the ultra-large-scale cloud computing positions that hedge funds bought during yesterday's rebound are being rapidly dumped, "with no buyers stepping in to catch the falling knife yet."

Multiple veteran traders described the liquidity conditions at the US stock market open as "highly characteristic of a liquidation," and noted that programmatic selling by algorithms and CTA funds intensified the initial straight-line plunge with no bids.

Separately, according to Vanda Research, retail selling in the first 30 minutes after Thursday's open hit the largest single 30-minute sell record in recent months, approaching the peak seen during the retail panic exodus in late July 2024.