According to ChainCatcher, citing Wall Street traders and Vanda Research, U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight and into the morning, with algorithmic and programmatic selling adding to volatility. Goldman Sachs trader John Flood described the session as especially painful, saying long-only institutions were again stuck and hedge funds were rapidly selling large cloud-computing positions bought during the previous day’s rebound, with no buyers yet stepping in.
Several veteran traders said opening liquidity had the hallmarks of forced liquidation, as algorithmic and CTA fund selling intensified a steep early decline amid a lack of buyers. Vanda Research said retail selling in the first 30 minutes after Thursday’s open was the largest single 30-minute selling total in recent months, approaching the peak during retail panic selling in late July 2024.