in trading securities. HFT uses proprietary trading strategies carried out by computers to move in and out of positions in seconds or fractions of a second.

In 2016, HFT on average initiated 10-40% of trading volume in equities, and 10-15% of volume in foreign exchange and commodities. High-frequency traders move in and out of short-term positions at high volumes and high speeds aiming to capture sometimes a fraction of a cent in profit on every trade.