“Volume is the weapon of the bull” (Wall Street adage)

“Volume is the weapon of the bull” is a Wall Street adage meaning that bull markets rise on strong volume. “Trading volume, often called ‘a weapon of the bull’” has been cited in print since at least 1987.
 
     
Google Books
The Outlook
Volume 59
Standard and Poor’s Corporation
1987
Pg. 723: 
Despite the firmer tone of the past weeks, the market does not appear ready to mount a sustainable rally. From a technical standpoint, trading volume, often called “a weapon of the bull;’ has been lackluster and market breadth, as measured by the NYSE advance-decline line, is lagging.

5 February 1993, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “Dow Hits Record as Germany Cuts Rates; Dow Jones’ Surge May Herald a Return to Healthy Economic Growth Worldwide” by Tom Petrunio. pg. D1:
The pent-up demand for stocks is best measured by the huge trading volume that accompanied the Dow record this week, [Norman Yu] says. An old Wall Street credo holds that volume is the weapon of the bull. Or, as Yu puts it, “When we see this kind of volume, it shows that the sellers in the market aren’t able to mount any great offensive against stocks.”
 
Google Books
Market Magic:
Riding the greatest bull market of the century
By Louise Yamada
New York, NY: Wiley
1998
Pg. 62:
Volume expansion has been a key ingredient in the recent improving indicators. This orderly progressive increase of volume is another signal of the extraordinary strength of this once-in-a-lifetime bull. Volume is the key weapon of the bull (Figure 3-3).
 
Wall Street Bear Discussion Board
Smith Barney: “Stocks seem likely to outperform cash over the next 12 to 15 months.”....
PDQ - Mon, Sep 13, 2004 - 02:43 PM
 
Smith Barney recommends greater exposure to stocks
Mon Sep 13, 2004 12:55 PM ET
NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Smith Barney, the brokerage arm of Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , told investors on Monday to increase ownership of stocks while reducing cash holdings on optimism that the outlook for equities would brighten over the medium term.
(...)
But “volume, the weapon of the bull, will still be key in determining a more positive equity market profile and must reassert to sustain an advance,” Smith Barney said in the note.
   
Of Two Minds by Charles Hugh Smith
Sunday, July 26, 2009
A Wild Speculation: the Stock Market and the Economy
(...)   
To market insiders this fly in the Bull-market ointment is critical, because “volume is the weapon of the Bull.” If there’s declining volume, that is extremely suspicious because volume is the one metric insiders can only pump so high on their own.
 
OnlineTradersForum.com
StockTwits
03-09-2010, 04:50 PM
Volume is the weapon of the bull (Ritholtz) http://tinyurl.com/y9zwld5
 
Business Insider
If Volume Is the Weapon Of The Bull, Then….
Charles Hugh Smith|April 10, 2011
Declining volume suggests the stock market has falling participation and is thus increasingly vulnerable.
 
The stock market adage “Volume is the weapon of the Bull” means that Bull markets are powered by strong demand for stocks, which translates into sustained buying volume.
 
The Economic Voice
Never mind the volume, watch the price
April 18th, 2011
Author: Jeff Taylor
There is a saying in stock markets that ‘volume is the weapon of the bull’. This translates into a basic understanding that a high volume of buying demands will push the value of the stock market up.