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that they use to anticipate movements. With greater electronification and fragmentation, it is sometimes harder to see the entire picture and this poses a new challenge for those starting out in the industry.
“ It [ activity on the trading floor ] was like a freight train coming. You could feel the rumbling in the tracks. Especially on the New York floor, you can hear the footsteps,” she says.
“ You could feel the vibration of people walking faster, and you can hear the momentum pick up. It was really fascinating to me because then your ears would perk up and you’ re thinking‘ what do I need to pay attention to?’‘ What ' s happening right now?’ Now, you lose that continuity. It ' s all machinetrading. I ran to the bookstore within the first week of working on the exchange and I bought books on the market like‘ Inside the Fed’ and ' a Barron ' s guide to financial definitions ', and I just ate it all up,” she explains.
“ S & P used to publish this tiny thing called a tear guide, and the paper was super thin, like airmail paper. I managed to get my hands on one and I took it home over the weekend and I memorised every stock ticker and which specialist traded it on the floor, and what post they were at so I could come armed and know exactly where to run a ticket to or from.
“ The more interested I became, the more people became interested in me because I started
“ If I could come up with the solution, I ' d probably be able to retire tomorrow.”
asking questions.”
Not all traders will have the opportunity to witness the exhilaration of an open outcry trading floor during their career. In the past, the majority of trading has taken place in-person on a trading floor where traders in the flesh would buy and sell throughout the course of the day, and where runners – such as Hinmon – would run between them delivering tickets.
However, given the rising prowess of technology in trading, the way markets today operate has changed beyond recognition. Importantly, stresses Hinmon, so too has the way that traders feel markets and the methods
14 // TheTRADE // Q1 2025