I'm not really talking about power hour where day traders close out of positions, but rather the volume right at close or right after close, where there would sometimes be a huge volume candle, but no significant price movement. What do these movements typically represent? I saw a lot of these candles a couple of weeks ago, when I think a lot of them got added to the russell 3000. Aside from this, what are other reasons why there might be huge volume right at close? Also, sometimes I see huge wicks afterhours. I called my broker and they don't know what it is. For a long time, I've thought those are options exercises, but never really confirmed it. What are they really?
There is an auction that occurs at market close. Rules vary depending on the exchange: https://www.nyse.com/network/article/nyse-closing-auction https://www.nyse.com/article/nyse-closing-auction-insiders-guide https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/content/productsservices/Trading/ClosingCrossfaq.pdf The large wicks you are seeing could be dark pool trades that happened during regular trading hours. The reporting of their trades is delayed and will show up some time in the after hours trades.
%% Typical close /settlement+ open volume. AS far no price movement= supply/demand mini match; maxi mismatch is the big trends, POST market wicks/spikes = a good reason not to do irregular hours.
advise for everyone... turn off TV during market hours. It clogs your mind with nonsense! https://www.darkpoolsecrets.com/