Traders are using Twitter to share information about companies
and markets trends.
According to
a
Financial Times report, Twitter is replacing trading pits where
traders once shared information.
Trades rely on real-time information about the markets to help
them make the right decisions.
With the growth of automated trading where computers make
decisions using algorithms,
trading firms are linking their trading software to
Twitter
.
As reported in Computer Weekly, trading software maker
Streambase plans to give traders the option of linking its complex
event monitoring software to Twitter through an adaptor. The
adaptor will help the package receive information from the
microblogging website to help it make decisions on buying and
selling shares.
Mark Palmer, CEO of Streambase, said that trading systems can
use Twitter direct messaging to alert users of trading
opportunities or system problems.
Christophe Langlois, founder of
Visible-Banking, which advises financial services companies on the
use of social media, said there is great potential for using
Twitter in trading, but there are question marks. "It all depends
on where the information comes from. It is a question of the value
of information and the expertise of the person providing the
information," he said.
A social media site
was launched in July to help start-up investment firms compete
with bigger competitors.
Hedgehogs.net provides
social networking tools and business software to support small
firms and individuals in the investment sector.
Users can share knowledge and market information through the
website, allowing them to compete with bigger firms, said Ken
Yeadon, CEO at Hedgehogs.net and managing partner at Thematic
Partners, which founded the site.
Banks are also
using Twitter to engage with customers.