Trading volume
Also called: volume, traded value, relative volume
The number of shares traded in a period, shown as bars beneath most price charts.
Every share bought is also a share sold, so volume measures how active trading was, not whether buyers outnumbered sellers. Compare volume with the share's own recent average, and check for index changes, block deals and corporate actions behind unusual spikes.
Learn more in these lessons
- Trading volume and liquidity on chartsWhat does trading volume on a chart tell you?
- Breakouts, pullbacks and retestsWhat is a breakout, and how should you treat one?
- Volume-weighted average price (VWAP)What is VWAP, and how should you use it?
- On-balance volumeWhat is on-balance volume, and does it show smart money buying?
- Volume confirmation and its limitsDoes volume confirm price moves and chart patterns?
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