Are the prices of e-minis such as S&P 500, Russell 2000, EUROSTOXX, etc. manipulated? That is, are there traders who trade large enough positions to make the price go in the direction they want, taking unfair advantage of the rest of the traders in that market?
If so, what implication does this have for designing any trading systems for those markets? Is it essentially a fool's errand unless you have enough money to be one of the "manipulators"?
I once heard an experienced trader say (to retail traders):
The first thing you have to understand about this market is that this market was not created for you to make money. It was created for the big players to make money - from you!