Volume
Shares traded per bar — the conviction gauge behind every price move.
Reading the TapeBeginner 5 min read· Lesson 5 of 11 in Stock Market Basics
Reading it
Volume measures participation. A breakout on 3× average volume has broad agreement behind it; the same breakout on dead volume is a few traders pushing an empty room — far more likely to fail. Volume CONFIRMS price; price without volume is a rumor.
Patterns of note
Volume spikes at capitulation lows and blow-off tops; it dries up in consolidations (the quiet before breakouts — see the Squeeze lesson later); rising trends on steadily rising volume are the healthiest.
On this platform
The chart's volume pane is on by default; the VOLUME_SPIKE named condition (volume > 2× its 20-day average) is scannable directly — try it in the Scanner.