On Thin Volume

It's been noted repeatedly that the recent trading has been on thin volume.With next week being Thanksgiving week,that isn't likely to change.When trading volume is light,the market lacks a certain something-the ability to convince.It means there is an abundance of caution on the floor.In the current case,it also means the retail investor is still absent from the process.There's a lot of money on the sidelines,we are told.If the sidelines go on and on,they aren't sidelines anymore;they are the playing field.A new normal has arrived.It's like the aftermath of battle.We stand in the financial rubble,all too glad to get out for a day,eat some holiday food and watch some sports with our long-lost families.Only the equivocal data suggest the post-holiday won't be any different from the pre-holiday.The long,slow healing is our way of life for the foreseeable future.