Source: https://mochatrade.com/learn/us-market-structure/who-moves-us-stocks

# US Government Structure: Regulators & Market Makers
URL: https://mochatrade.com/learn/us-market-structure/who-moves-us-stocks
Last modified: 2026-10-09

Lecture 1.3 of MochaLearn, Module 1: US market structure. 9:16. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut70g1QsvT0

The institutions that shape the market through policy, and the participants that move it through trading.

## About this lecture

A tariff announcement, a government shutdown, a Treasury auction or a disappearing bid can affect your position. Who is behind each event, and how does their role differ?
In this lecture, Pratham maps two sides of the US market: the institutions that influence it through policy and the participants that move it through trading.
You'll learn about:
- Congress, spending bills, taxes and the debt ceiling
- Presidential decisions, tariffs, sanctions and appointments
- Treasury borrowing, bond supply and crisis responses
- The Fed's role and its relationship with elected officials
- The SEC and CFTC as market regulators
- How market makers provide liquidity and manage event risk
- Index funds, passive flows and the closing auction
The goal is to connect a headline to the institution or participant behind it—and understand the channel through which it can affect prices.

Educational content only. Not investment advice.

[MochaLearn](https://mochatrade.com/learn) is a free A to Z course on understanding and trading US stocks and commodities, built for Indian traders.

Last updated 9 October 2026

## Key takeaways

1. Two sides move the market: institutions through policy — Congress, the President, the Treasury, the Fed, the SEC and the CFTC — and participants through trading — market makers, index funds and passive flows.
2. Congress controls spending, taxes and the debt ceiling; the President decides tariffs, sanctions and appointments; the Treasury borrows and sets the supply of bonds.
3. Market makers provide the liquidity you trade against and step back when event risk rises, which is how a bid can disappear.
4. Passive flows from index funds concentrate in the closing auction.

## Terms in this lecture

- 13F filing: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/13f-filing
- Bid-ask spread: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/bid-ask-spread
- Closing auction (official close): https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/closing-auction
- Commodity ETF: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/commodity-etf
- Contango and backwardation: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/contango-and-backwardation
- Contract rollover: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/contract-rollover
- Debt ceiling: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/debt-ceiling
- Direct listing / SPAC: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/direct-listing-spac
- Dual mandate: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/dual-mandate
- ETF creation and redemption: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/etf-creation-and-redemption
- Federal Reserve: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/federal-reserve
- FINRA: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/finra
- Government shutdown: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/government-shutdown
- Hard to borrow: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/hard-to-borrow
- Hedging: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/hedging
- Index ETF: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/index-etf
- Index rebalancing: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/index-rebalancing
- Inverse ETF: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/inverse-etf
- Liquidity: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/liquidity
- Long and short position: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/long-and-short-position
- Margin call: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/margin-call
- Market cap categories (mega/large/mid/small): https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/market-cap-categories
- Market maker: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/market-maker
- NASDAQ: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/nasdaq
- Opening auction: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/opening-auction
- Payment for order flow: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/payment-for-order-flow
- Quantitative easing: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/quantitative-easing
- Quantitative tightening: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/quantitative-tightening
- SEC: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/sec
- Short interest: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/short-interest
- Short selling: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/short-selling
- Short squeeze: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/short-squeeze
- Tariff: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/tariff
- Term premium: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/term-premium
- US ETF: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/us-etf
- US Treasury: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/us-treasury