Why the stock volumes are the lowest in months that the Dow, S & P 500 and Nasdaq test record

Stocks are on the verge of a record area, possibly representing the end of an implacability that saw a sharp refuge from the peaks affected in late summer and autumn 2018.

The recent resurgence of stocks after a more than six-month corrective hiatus many market participants have questioned the durability, as trading volumes remain close to the lowest levels in 2019. "19659002]" It has been a bit of a rocking chair product market, because we have done a lot, but have not gone anywhere, "Matthew Bartolini, leader, said. of SPDR Americas research at State Street Global Advisors, MarketWatch in a Tuesday interview.

In fact, Monday's dealings were the lowest all-day total compound trading volume (representing trade on the New York Stock Exchange and its main business and on Nasdaq). Through 5.7 billion shares since September 1[ads1]0, according to Dow Jones Market Data. In fact, Monday's session even darkened by the holiday-shortened Christmas Eve increased revenue by 5.79 billion shares.

To get a finer point, the rolling 10-day average of total composite volumes is lowest since September 12, and volumes are at pace for the lowest monthly average since August. The average volume for April, if it holds, would be the worst April since 2013, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

It's not quite clear what these defective volumes mean for stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average

DJIA, -0.01%

sits 1.6% card from its October 3 closing stop, S & P 500 index

SPX, -0.23%

1.1% short of its all-time closing high, and the Nasdaq Composite Index

COMP, -0.05%

only 1.5% from its all-time high.

Some say that a lack of trading activity reflects the lack of participation in the market through a broad investment step.

"For the New York Stock Exchange, it's been a little hesitant to have full participation in the rally … with a decent amount of people on the sidelines," says State Streets Bartolini. He said the people who "missed the bounce back [since the December low] are waiting to see what's going on in the earnings season."

To be sure, deficient volumes that have declined for years, can't tell the whole story of the state of the market.

Industry participants have also emphasized that the breadth of the market – the number of companies that climb instead of falling to rent peaks or troughs – has become somewhat better, measured by a translated metric: Value Line Geometric Index

VALUG, -0.52%

The geometric measurement, which tracks the median flow of a number of stocks and is equilibrium, was still about 7.6% from its full-time strike on August 29. , but has climbed, up 23% since the sink in December low (see diagram below).

Source: FactSet

The value line is used by many technical analysts as a measure of broad market participation in collections or sales outlets because indices such as the S & P 500 and Nasdaq, which are market weighted, can be made up of Major Components such as Facebook Inc. Apple Inc.

AAPL, + 1.95%

Amazon.com Inc.

AMZN, + 0.10%

Netflix Inc.

NFLX, -1.31%

and Google Parent Alphabet Inc.

GOOGL, + 0.67%

GOOG, + 0.75%

by virtue of their mega market values.

So should investors be concerned about low volumes? The jury can still be out.

"It's this volume debate. Does that really matter?" Quincy Krosby, Marketing Director at Prudential Financial, told MarketWatch.

For her part, she looks for volumes to confirm, or disprove, the bullish that is reflected in key markets. "Volume [measures] helps you confirm the move in the market, especially when looking for signs, when it comes to war, which takes place [between bulls and bears] and helps investors measure which side of the warrior wins," she said.

Currently, Krosby espouses the view provided by BlackRock Inc.

BLK, + 0.20%

CEO Larry Fink on Tuesday, with many money still sitting on the sidelines.

See: The stock market at risk of melting, not a meltdown, warns BlackRocks Larry Fink