Tape reading

The discipline of monitoring real-time order flow — bid/ask spreads, executed prints, large orders, cross-market correlations — to gauge near-term price direction. Old-school day-trading skill; superseded but not replaced by HFT.

Modern proxies: order-book heatmaps (Bookmap), DOM (depth of market) ladders, large-print indicators. Still useful at key levels and around breaking news.