|  JUL 1989

Locating value with auction market data by Donald L. Jones

Locating value with auction market data by Donald L. Jones There are two fools in every market. One asks too little, one asks too much. — Old Russian proverb The search for value in markets is a never-ending quest, since value changes with underlying economic conditions. A fundamental approach to valuation, such as that of Graham & Dodd, (Security Analysis, first printed in 1934), looks to the long term and projects an intrinsic value from earnings growth, management quality, business prospects and the like. Technical analysis uses the daily summary data (open, high, low, close, volume) to characterize market movement. Recently, J. Peter Steidlmayer has proposed an auction market theory which evaluates the state of the market from the perspective of a single day to long term (Markets and Market Logic, Steidlmayer & Koy). Auction market analysis uses a new sort of technical data, one where the volume is identified with each price traded. Value, as defined within auction market theory, is market acceptance of price, signified by trading volume. Higher volume price regions demonstrate a consensus of value by buyers and sellers. Auction market data provides the mechanism to locate high-volume regions and thus, permits the location of value each day after the close.

by Donald L. Jones