actually stop-hunting is just everywhere in the market, coz not only brokers stop-hunt, professionals like hedge funds and others may stop-hunt too if they need to fill their own positions, so i think just be aware u may be stop-hunted, and take actions to recognize and handle or even capitalize on it.
also if brokers stop-hunt, they give vital information about it also, just like yesterday, audusd rushed up from 0.8778 to 0.8006 at 7pm, why leh? stop-hunting lor, because later 8.30 got news mah, somemore is unemployment claims. so at 7, when they made the move, i thought, they trying to either 1) reduce exposure by hunting the stops at the 00 levels or 2) gunning the stops at 00 level to change direction from net long or squared to net short in preparation for the news, since if news come in, and it goes down, the dealers will already have their positions in place, and can take profit when the news release and order-flow comes in.
so i took the move from 0.8785 to 0.8799 and exited once i realized they are gunning the 00 levels, and then i wait for the news to come in as i didn't want to risk it, then i short the down move after the news (news is bullish audusd but we get bearish candle for the pair, and 1-2 candles after that, no bullish candles in sight), as it seems like flow is still downwards and took 15pips downwards too.
so point is everytime someone does something in the market, its not completely good or completely bad, its how u intepret it and how much information their move contains.
mainly, those fundamental value traders send their orders to the brokers, then brokers act on it, so brokers know the fundamental value traders like george soros and those huge funds what they are trying to do as the order flow goes through them, and other market makers who have a connection with ur broker may know too. once u trace the way the information flows u know how they are likely to act with a reasonable amount of predictability.
theres no smoke without fire.