Market Manipulations: Spotting Absorption and Stophunts

In today’s trading education, we explore Market Manipulations—a concept critical to understanding how professional participants influence price action through stealth tactics.

What Are Market Manipulations?

Market manipulations are typically executed by large institutional players using passive limit orders rather than aggressive market orders. Their goal? To fulfill massive positions without tipping off the market or triggering major price shifts.

These players wait patiently, absorbing aggressive retail orders, allowing them to stay under the radar—because only direct market orders show up in volume metrics. However, with tools like Volume Terminal and indicators such as cy75, their tactics become easier to detect.

Key Concepts in Market Manipulation

Absorption

Absorption happens when one side (usually a passive seller or buyer) quietly soaks up all opposing aggressive orders without letting price move significantly in that direction.

5 August 2022 – EUR/USD: Passive Seller Absorbing Buyers

Throughout the day, a passive seller absorbed incoming buying pressure. Around noon, the market tested above the DFP, found no new buyers, and the passive seller turned aggressive, causing the market to collapse.

12 August 2022 – EUR/USD: Buyers Absorbed During Downtrend

A passive seller kept adjusting their Sell Limit/Stop orders downward as aggressive buyers pushed in. cy75 showed green candles (buy pressure), but the market continued falling—clear evidence of buyer absorption.

Stophunt

A stophunt is a tactic where the market is intentionally pushed to trigger stop-losses from weak positions—often followed by a sharp reversal in the opposite direction.

10 August 2022 – EUR/USD: Stoplosses Triggered, Reversal Ensues

Around 3:00, cy75 indicated buyer control (green candles). A passive buyer waited near daily lows to absorb the panic selling from stop-losses. Once those orders were triggered (seen via two red cy75 candles), the market reversed sharply upward, confirming the true direction was long.

22 July 2022 – EUR/USD: The Trap and Flush

Early absorption of aggressive buyers began in the Asian session (03:00) with green candles below DFP and a slow grind down. Sellers then took control, pushing price lower to the AOI.


But just before the London open (09:00), the market retraced to retest DFP/SFP and printed a green candle—flushing out weak short sellers via stophunt. This gave the passive seller a full fill, who then aggressively sold and caused an instant market collapse.

Final Thoughts

Market manipulation is not about deception—it’s about strategy. Institutions use passive orders to conceal their true intentions, letting retail traders show their hands first.


Understanding concepts like absorption and stophunts, especially when combined with tools like cy75 and Volume Terminal, gives you the edge to avoid traps and trade alongside the real momentum.

Pro Tip: Always watch how price reacts near key levels like DFP, SFP, or AOIs—it’s not just what price does, but how it does it that reveals the true market narrative.

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