1.
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Practices specifying Indicator A(a) of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 596/2014:
(a)
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Buying of positions, also by colluding parties, of a financial instrument, a related spot commodity contract, or an auctioned product based on emission allowances, on the secondary market, after the allocation in the primary market in order to post the price to an artificial level and generate interest from other investors — usually known, for example in the equity context, as colluding in the after-market of an Initial Public Offer (IPO) where colluding parties are involved. This practice may also be illustrated by the following additional indicators of market manipulation:
(i)
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unusual concentration of transactions and/or orders to trade, whether generally, or by only one person using one or different accounts, or by a limited number of persons;
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(ii)
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transactions or orders to trade with no other apparent justification than to increase the price of or to increase the volume of trading, namely near to a reference point during the trading day, for instance at the opening or near the close;
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(b)
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Transactions or orders to trade carried out in such a way that obstacles are created to the financial instrument, a related spot commodity contract, or an auctioned product based on emission allowances, with prices falling below, or rising above a certain level, mainly in order to avoid negative consequences deriving from changes in the price of the financial instrument, a related spot commodity contract, or an auctioned product based on emission allowances — usually known as ‘creation of a floor, or a ceiling in the price pattern’. This practice may also be illustrated by the following additional indicators of market manipulation:
(i)
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transactions or orders to trade which have the effect, or are likely to have the effect, of increasing or decreasing or maintaining the price during the days preceding the issue, optional redemption or expiry of a related derivative or convertible;
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(ii)
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transactions or orders to trade which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of increasing or decreasing the weighted average price of the day or of a period during the trading session;
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(iii)
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transactions or orders to trade which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of, maintaining the price of an underlying financial instrument, related spot commodity contract, or an auctioned product based on emission allowances, below or above a strike price or other element used to determine the pay-out (e.g. barrier) of a related derivative at expiration date;
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(iv)
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transactions on any trading venue which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of, modifying the price of the underlying financial instrument, related spot commodity contract, or an auctioned product based on emission allowances, so that it surpasses or does not reach the strike price or other element used to determine the pay-out (e.g. barrier) of a related derivative at expiration date;
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(v)
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transactions which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of, modifying the settlement price of a financial instrument, related spot commodity contract, or an auctioned product based on emission allowances, when this price is used as a reference or determinant namely in the calculation of margin requirements.
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(c)
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Entering small orders to trade in order to ascertain the level of hidden orders and particularly to assess what is resting on a dark platform — usually known as ‘ping orders’;
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(d)
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Executing orders to trade, or a series of orders to trade, in order to uncover orders of other participants, and then entering an order to trade to take advantage of the information obtained — usually known as ‘phishing’.
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