There’s a very specific phenomenon that traders need to pay attention to right now.
It could make or break your account over the next few days.
What I’m watching.
Pull up a chair, this will set you up for the rest of the year…
The S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) is trading near all-time highs right now.
At face value, the market is strong and bulls are in charge.
But there’s something happening behind closed doors…
Something that could spell disaster for traders who ignore this hidden data.
Don’t fall for the trap. Instead, position your account to take advantage of this phenomenon.
What insiders are seeing.
How It Started
I’m taking my eldest to college over the next few days.
And that’s a perfect example of the momentum we’re seeing in the market…
This is the worst trading environment I’ve come across in a while. It sounds backwards with the SPY pinned near all-time highs. I can explain…
On August 12, the SPY traded a little over 33 million shares. That’s roughly a third of its average. And volatility just hit a yearly low, as shown by the VIX.
No volume and no movement mean wishy-washy plays.
Look at the calendar and it all makes sense:
- The last few weeks of summer are burning off.
- Families are shipping their kids back to school.
- Wall Street traders are still flying home from Europe.
- We just capped off a pivotal earnings season.
The trading volume is thin, and the order flow that actually pushes prices around isn’t showing up.
In a few weeks, the volume and momentum will come back in full swing.
But right now the market is as lazy as it gets.
Tighten your risk. Cut your size. Only trade the best setups on your list. And when nothing on your list qualifies, sit on your hands.
Doing nothing is a position too.
My Trade Setups
When volume is light in the market, it points toward bearish moves.
That’s where I went hunting this week.
Here’s the first alert I sent traders on August 12 at 2:17 PM:
BUY INTC 8/21/26 100 PUTS.
The secondary offering yesterday from INTC ($20 billion) added liquidity to the stock. I suspect some of those traders were there for a quick buck and will want to exit after the small pop this week.
Here’s the second alert, sent the same afternoon at 3:41 PM:
BUY 8/14/26 IWM 302 PUTS.
The anemic volume this week stretched across every index.
Volatility continues to get crushed, as does market interest, and low volume is usually a sign of exhaustion.
The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE: IWM) sits at nearly a 22% gain on the year.
Small caps have led this move. And they’re grinding sideways at the highs on some of the thinnest participation of 2026.
Low volume at the highs usually tells us the buyers are worn out. Nobody’s left to pay up.
But understand, this isn’t a guarantee. A thin tape can drift higher just as easily as it rolls over, and there’s nobody around to stop it in either direction.
That’s why my position sizing on both of these trades is small.
This is how we trade the last lazy weeks of summer without giving back what we made in the first seven months of the year.
Get Ready for the Volume To Return
This market won’t stay lazy…
When Labor Day hits, the trading desks will fill back up.
That’s when the tape changes:
- Order flows will return and moves will start following through.
- Breakouts hold past the first hour instead of dying at lunch.
- Volatility will expand.
- Institutional money repositions for the final stretch of the year.
Every one of these conditions works in our favor.
But we need to get to work before the volume shows up…
Build your watchlist now. Mark your levels now. Decide the size you’re trading with before the first real move of September hits.
When the tape wakes up, you won’t have time to do any of that. You’ll only have time to execute.
So take advantage of these lazy weeks.
August is for homework. Q4 is for trading gains.
Stay Street Smart,
Jeff Zananiri
*Past performance does not indicate future results, Not typical.
