Trading volume slumps to lowest yet this year on the NYSE
One technician sees bearish signals in decline, others not so much

A sharp drop in U.S. stock market trading volume could signal a looming test of the year’s lows or merely illustrate investor inactivity in a summer month, just ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement Wednesday.

The diminished trade had overall volume on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday falling to just under 1.1 billion, down 25% from its three-week moving average.

“The overall volume yesterday was the lowest for the year. I would attribute it to it being a Monday and August after earnings season, which tends to lend itself to lackluster volume in the first place, so I would be less inclined to use yesterday’s volume as a tea leaf one way or the other,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist, Jefferies & Co.