COVID-19 Impact on Algorithm Trading in Semiconductors and Electronics Industry
OVERVIEW
Algorithmic trading, automated trading, algo trading or black box trading is a technical development on the stock market. It is a programmed process running on a system that follows a complex series of trading instructions (algorithm) to generate income at a rate and frequency that is nearly impossible for human traders. Automated trading or algorithmic trading is gaining tremendous traction, which is useful for capital markets and is being adopted in countries such as the United States, India and the United Kingdom. The foreign exchange market has seen a rising involvement of algorithmic trading, that is, automated transaction mechanism focused on pre-determined programmes. At the same time, the need to change has become more important to understand its characteristics.
Thanks to developments in cloud computing, quantum computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, algorithmic trading or automated trading in financial shares based on algorithms has seen a sharp increase in recent years.
Financial firms make use of algorithms to track and execute transactions at a speed and pace that are difficult for a human trader to match. And as financial institutions look for ways to develop data analysis, modeling tools, and underlying processes to speed up execution, increase market liquidity, and generate better risk-adjusted returns, the goalpost continues to shift.
However, this rise in algorithmic trading comes with its own set of risks. Regulators are increasingly worried about the possible effect of failed algorithms on the functioning and stability of financial markets. Defective algorithms can lead to severe losses, with financial institutions' possible failures in extreme scenarios and systemic implications for the economy. The risk of algorithms being used for market manipulation and price manipulation is also of concern.
Stock prices reflect expectations of future earnings, every economic hypothesis that seemed true a month ago is being reassessed, and none is being reassessed as COVID-19 decreases economic activity and income. Increased levels of uncertainty and random panic in financial markets have made forecasts difficult, as much of the world is now in a state of stagnation. Prediction of stock-market moments using traditional statistical methods is not adequate.
IMPACT ON DEMAND AND SUPPLY CHAIN
In 2019, in the FX spot market on EBS2, one of the most widely used automated broking systems on the interbank market, the algorithmic trading share rose to about 70-80%. The FX trading system and the operation of the economy appeared to modify these changes in trade methods. The period of February 2020 to the end of March 2020 is an example of stress in global market volatility has risen as a result of the Pandemic COVID-19. Volatility of USD / JPY has sharply increased in March, though liquidity increased indicators, such as distribution of bid-ask and quantity of bid-ask best quotes (deep) have significantly degraded.
The OECD Interim Economic Outlook at the beginning of March 2020 illustrated that the epidemic of Coronavirus has already led to a gradual downturn in China's economic growth, and that subsequent outbreaks in other countries have challenged economic growth prospects. Since then, many governments have been motivated by the rising dissemination of Coronavirus across countries to take extraordinary measures to contain the outbreak.
Although it was important to control the epidemic, these interventions led to the temporary closing of many businesses, widespread restrictions on travel and mobility, financial market instability, loss of trust and heightened uncertainty. This approach indicates that shutdowns could lead to rapid declines in production levels in many economies, with consumer demand potentially falling by about one-third. Changes of this nature will far outweigh the economic crisis in the dark.
Data on the FX market that can be defined by a person traders and evaluate their trading activity in depth are limited. This situation represents the demand for FX special characteristics, that is, no clear regulatory criteria authorities exist and multiple participants exchange over-the-counter (OTC) in different locations around the world.
STEPS TAKEN BY COUNTRIES
The economic effect of the global spread of COVID-19 has raised investor risk aversion in ways not seen since the global financial crisis. Stock markets have plummeted by more than 30%; implicit capital and oil volatility has risen to crisis levels; and credit spreads on non-investment debt have expanded significantly as investors minimize risks. This heightened uncertainty in global financial markets is occurring despite the significant and extensive financial reforms accepted by the G20 financial authorities.
These problems vary widely from the recent financial crisis, too. A sound evaluation of the changing dynamics of global markets and financial intermediation in the post-crisis era calls for an appreciation of current business fragility, business contagion processes and policy implications.
In several nations, companies have become heavily indebted and are now vulnerable to worsening economic and business conditions. In the midst of a prolonged period of accommodative monetary policy, the very low borrowing rates have led to unprecedented corporate debt. As a result, corporate debt is at a very high level in many G20 countries, and the rise of leveraged loans outstanding in the U.S. and Europe has offset the slowdown in bank lending to provide indebted companies with financing.
This debt was used by many firms to pay dividends and buy back shares, expanding the leverage that made them more prone to sharp declines in operating earnings.
Furthermore, lower-rated loans issued in the form of BBB, non-investment-grade, and leveraged bonds have increased to higher amounts. This has been extended throughout the banking industry to a number of customers, from insurers, hedge funds, and institutional investment funds, as well as loans secured by collateralized loan commitments.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussed pointers, it is clear that the market for the Algorithm Trading equipment have increased owing to factors that the protective measures to be inculcated by the industries to take precautions and necessary steps in the industry to safeguard their employees from the spread of SARS (COVID-19) attack. The companies and various organizations are deploying protective equipment such as gloves, helmets, masks and sanitizers towards the safety.
