High-frequency trading is essentially a low-margin, high-volume play that exploits small price differences for profit. The most obvious example would be arbitra

High-frequency trading is essentially a low-margin, high-volume play that exploits small price differences for profit. The most obvious example would be arbitraging the same security on different exchanges (buying low on one and selling pennies higher on another). Similarly, algorithmic models could exploit price volatility for individual securities on the same exchange. Under such conditions, fractions of a second can determine whether a given trade is a winning or losing one.