Light Trading Volume Belies Index Gains

Even though the Dow, S&P 500, and NASDAQ all gained in trading today (albeit by slight amounts), they did so on light trading volume that speaks loudly about the reluctance to invest that is still prevalent in the market.

Furthermore, the late-session reversal suggests that heavier volume throughout the day would have sent the stock market as a whole south of the red line - an indicator that investors are not as confident in the market's recovery or prospects for improvement as originally thought. A late burst in buys before the closing bell managed to break up the market's downward momentum.

A look at volume trading patterns isn't viewed as that predictive by many, but I think this pattern shows that upward momentum is weak for the rest of the weak as the tech sector is likely to either pull back further or remain stagnant through Friday.