Order flow
How do I read Time and Sales (The Tape) data acceleration to confirm institutional commitment to an intraday breakout move?
By Easy Money Scanner · Educational reference · Not investment advice
The short answer
Time and Sales (the tape) lists every executed trade with price, size, and timestamp; reading its acceleration and size clusters can indicate strengthening breakout participation.
How it works
A surge in print speed and larger trade sizes at a breakout level suggests more participants are committing capital, though tape reading requires practice and is not foolproof.
An example
Print speed jumps from 5 to 50 trades/second.
Risk & limitations
Tape reading is subjective skill with no guaranteed accuracy.
Examples are hypothetical, not trade recommendations. US contract and regulatory references do not automatically apply in Canada. Rules, margin requirements and broker policies can change; confirm them with the relevant authority and your broker.