Volume

All last year, when we all, your truly included, pined away about low volume, we never excused a pre-holiday session for its low volume. It did not matter if it was the day before Memorial Day or erev Christmas, low volume was factored into the technicals just as it is on any trading day.

So why are pundits dismissing last week's low volume as not so meaningful? 

What would Wyckoff say? That is an awful lot of price movement on very little money changing hands. Not exactly effort and result in balance.

As I wrote in today's Barron's Online column, "Put them (weak technicals) all together and mix with relief that there was positive movement in the Greek debt crisis. Garnish with the relative illiquidity of a preholiday market and you get a deceptively strong rally."