Stock market "Technical adjustment", what is it?

[ls99]

No particular reason for the timing of the question, just happened to think about it.

Only seen it noted in down market, never in in up market.
Who would be the technicians adjusting the market? why?
Is it an adjustment made by the specialists or market makers?
Does the market need a technical adjustment? If so how is it decided.

If anyone is familiar with the inner workings of wall st. would appreciate info. Else educated guesses OK too.

Googl search gave no answers.

 

[REWahoo]

Financial journalists use the term 'technical adjustment' to explain market movement whenever they cannot come up with a better explanation...

 

[bosco]

Financial journalists use the term 'technical adjustment' to explain market movement whenever they cannot come up with a better explanation...

took the words right out of my mouth.

if they can explain it, then it's a 'fundamental adjustment.'

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Sometimes, when a market maker or specialist sits down just wrong, and their pants wad up just so, they have to make a "technical" adjustment. You can imagine how useful the details of this are to predicting stock market movements.

 

[ls99]

Sometimes, when a market maker or specialist sits down just wrong, and their pants wad up just so, they have to make a "technical" adjustment. You can imagine how useful the details of this are to predicting stock market movements.

More of a curiosity for the use of the expression. It is used far too often and most folks just go along with it. But of course, technical adjustment.

I never use media info for investment purposes.

 

[Leonidas]

You guys were pretty close. Time Magazine, July 13, 1962:

For the week as a whole, the average picked up 15 points, but Friday's performance confirmed the suspicion of many analysts that the market was not beginning a major rally but only making a "technical adjustment"-a term that Wall Streeters use to describe a change in price levels which is caused not by visible political or economic events but rather by day-to-day traders responding almost mechanically to market conditions.

But even better was an explanation in a book called Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases,

...market analysts have an explanation for every change in price, whether purposeful or not. Some explanations are inconsistent...others seem to deny any random component, for example that ultimate fudge factor, the technical adjustment.

 

[ls99]

Bingo - Thanks Leonidas. Your first quote shows that the expression was used at least once in an up market.

I did forget to consider the highly mathematical term "random fudge factor". In all my Alaskan field work, that used to be the controlling factor. Also known as "flying weather". Fog so bad even the seagulls were grounded.

Thanks for the homework assignment by proxy. A book to read!

 

[ziggy29]

I tend to think of these as an "oversold bounce" or "sucker's rally" in a down market and a correction in an up market.