(WSJ.com) — Friday’s stock-market slide, fueled by renewed worries about Europe’s finances, could produce the first increase in daily volume since last week’s “flash crash.” If that happens, watch out. Traders usually interpret big drops on rising volume as a sign of firm conviction that could keep the selling going awhile longer. Composite turnover in New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks hit a near-record 10.7 billion shares on May 6, then fell for five straight days, hurt in part by retail investors’ shying away while the precise cause of the crash remains unclear. But just after midday on Friday, composite volume hit 3 billion shares, more than halfway to Thursday’s total of 5 billion shares.
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