Another day, another binary HFT mad finger intervention making a mockery of the NBBO, and the general market. Earlier, following absolutely no news, Merrill Lynch Canada Inc (NYSE: HCH) which had closed at $115.93, decided to trade up 30% for no reason at the open, hitting a price as high as $144.99 after some computerized stock trading Frankenstein blew a fuse and ripped through every offer on its way $30 dollars higher. This continued for about 30 seconds between 9:34:14 and 9:34:49 when 1,700 shares went apeshit about 25% over the NBBO. Yet if this was an isolated incident it would be fine, but just over an hour later, the same algo went berserk again, going to town with the stock in the upper $130s, trading another 1,200 shares (see below). An embarrassed NYSE had to immediately come out and DK all the trades, providing no explanation for the DK'ing. After all, we all know that when it comes to HFT algos blowing up the market, be it 5/6, today, or last week when WaPo traded a few million percent higher for a second and tripped circuit breakers, nobody knows nothing. And as long as the HFT lobby continues to hire every single person from the SEC who believes they are owed a far greater salary from the frontrunning lobby, the lack of knowledge will continue.

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