trading volume

There are many questions out there about what is really driving the seven-month gain and how sustainable it really is. One of the big ones that keeps popping up is trading volume. Where is it?


The recent ups and downs have generally been defined by low volume on the up and higher volume on the down.



Gains have been exaggerated by light volume, Gluskin Sheff + Associates’ strategic guru David Rosenberg comments in his note Tuesday morning.



“Barely over a billion shares on the Big Board? Are you kidding? After a 16.6% plunge on Friday, volume in yesterday’s session was still far below normal and the second lowest in the past two weeks,” he says. “This is a sign that conviction over the current rally remains unusually light.”



It’s a good question and the bulls haven’t offered a convincing answer. Trading was light Tuesday morning, with U.S. markets giving back early gains and the Toronto Stock Exchange down 86 points to 11400, led by the energy sector.