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This guide covers monitoring for unusual volume — abnormal trading activity that often precedes or accompanies a meaningful move. Volume spikes are one of the earliest signs that something is happening in a name, sometimes before the reason is widely known. A volume monitor is a specialized watchlist monitor focused on a single dimension. For the general mechanics — thresholds, cadence, delivery channel, and making alerts actionable — follow Set up watchlist monitoring. This guide covers only what is specific to volume. The underlying concept is Scheduled Tasks.

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When to use this

  • You want early warning when a name starts trading abnormally
  • You track names where a volume spike would prompt you to dig in
  • You want to catch developing situations before they hit the headlines

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Define “unusual” against a baseline

Volume only means something relative to a name’s normal. Frame the trigger as a multiple of average, not a raw number: 
Monitor my watchlist for unusual volume. Alert me when a name trades significantly above its average volume — for example, more than 2x — and tell me what's likely driving it.
This is the one setting that makes a volume monitor work. A fixed share count fires constantly on liquid names and never on thin ones; a multiple of average normalizes across the whole list.

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Read volume together with price and flow

Raw volume is only half the signal. A spike is a question — pair it with the cause and the direction: 
When you flag unusual volume, check for news, filings, or events that might explain it, and tell me whether it looks like accumulation or distribution — buying or selling pressure.
Across markets, this can draw on Driven’s flow data — institutional-versus-retail flow — to characterize who is behind the move, whether the name trades in the US or Hong Kong. For A-share names, Dragon & Tiger lists add an extra, market-specific view of the players involved. Smart Money goes deeper on the same question.

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Example variations

A watchlist volume monitor: 
During market hours, watch [tickers] for volume more than 2x their average. Flag each with the likely cause and whether it's buying or selling pressure. Deliver to Telegram.
A broader scan: 
Each day after market close, tell me which names in [sector or universe] had the most unusual volume today and what drove it.
For cadence, delivery, and quiet-by-default alerting, reuse the patterns in Set up watchlist monitoring.

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Common mistakes

  • No baseline. “High volume” means nothing without an average to compare against. Frame it as a multiple of normal.
  • Spikes without explanation. Always have the monitor look for the cause; raw volume is only half the signal.
  • Acting on the spike alone. Volume tells you to look; it does not tell you to buy or sell.