We are struggling for superlatives (or whatever the antonym for superlatives is). Today's NYSE volume is as low as we could find on Bloomberg data. It is the lowest non-holiday trading day volume in over a decade. This is 26% below last year's post-Superbowl trading day volume. ES, the e-mini S&P 500 future contract, which has tended to be the most liquid and heavily traded instrument reflective of the equity markets, traded around 1.19mm contracts versus a 50-day average of 1.83mm (down 35%) and also we were struggling to find a non-holiday trading day with lower volumes (lower even than on the Thanksgiving Friday of last year's volume). Using our trusty Birinyi ruler and extrapolating the trend since the March 2009 crisis lows, we see No-Volume-Day (NV-Day) as being celebrated on the NYSE in September 2015 (we assume valuations are being adjusted on financials and exchanges as we speak).
NYSE Volume (NYSEVOL Index).
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"Birinyi's Ruler" predicts the death of the market will take place on September 11, 2015.
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ES Volume
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Chart: Bloomberg