RE: Apple results today3 Nov 2023 07:59
For every seller there has to be a buyer. That is irrefutable. However the reporting of trades is inconsistent. I have bought and sold shares and sometimes it's reported precisely as I transacted i.e. the number of shares and price match, other times the transaction is skewed and it might appear lost or indeed rolled into another. It's simply not an exact science and guessing on here 'what's happened' is not productive. Same goes for the sell or buy reporting, that's inaccurate as well. Your trading platforms discount can move the trade above or below the midpoint and report the trade the opposite of what it was. As I said the other day, the only true indication is a move in the price backed by volume. The rest of the time it's the MM's profiting on the spread. Low volumes widen the spread typically in my experience and give a false indication of the sentiment.
Currently only a single sided manual trade reporting model is supported by London Stock Exchange. One of the two parties who participated in the trade will report both sides of the trade to the system. Exactly how that works and how it is determined who reports is subject to interpretation and the throwing of chicken bones. I suspect an Autotrade via SETS it's done.....automatically, but with an off-book transaction there is the chance that one, both or perhaps even neither report it properly hence you see corrections as they balance post trade.
There are also dark pools.......
All just my opinion I hasten to add.