First of all current volumes are very low compared to say 2...

First of all current volumes are very low compared to say 2 weeks back. And remember 50-70% of course of sales are fake circulation, call it what you like, I like "the merry-go-round". Yes that's the world we are leaving for our kids who already don't understand capitalism.

Then the HFT bots are trawling the globe for MSB related news feed. It could be anything no matter how trivial, these things don't have any brain. I could phone my cousin in the USA to do Youtube street interviews outside NYSE building saying MSB discovered a lithium deposit and the SP would spike in minutes if not seconds.

Compared to recent weeks they are now in a doldrum. But with access to trade-able shares or short positions or borrowing books they can, as you say "control" moves - and just a few cents controlled moves up and down can generate easy money for otherwise unemployable degenerates doing nothing. A few cents up will bring sucker money in, followed by a few cents down to buy back or close out. This again is the circus we are leaving for future generations: unlimited manipulation without risk only for the privileged few with securities licences.

And I will repeat again for the umpteenth time, it is all because market bids do not "lock in" for any fixed time. They can be placed and cancelled or revised by computer program in less than the time you need to blink. If price bids and volumes by brokers were compulsorily locked for 2 minutes or 5 minutes we would see a whole different world.