Nasdaq's Modest 0.49 Rebound Amid 42.62 Volume Drop Lands It 438th in Liquidity Rankings

On October 2, 2025, Nasdaq (NDAQ) rose 0.49% to close at its session high, marking a modest rebound amid mixed market sentiment. Trading volume for the index totaled $0.27 billion, a 42.62% decline from the previous day, ranking it 438th among all listed stocks in terms of liquidity. The move followed a strategic shift in investor focus toward defensive sectors and a broader reevaluation of risk assets following recent macroeconomic data releases.

Market participants observed a tightening of trading ranges across key tech and growth stocks, with algorithmic trading activity showing reduced volatility in the final hour of trading. Analysts attributed the subdued volume to a combination of seasonal factors and a lack of catalysts for aggressive position-taking, particularly in the absence of significant earnings reports or regulatory announcements affecting the tech-heavy index.

To run this back-test rigorously we first need to pin down a few practical details that weren’t specified explicitly. I’ve laid out the key assumptions and the default values I would use if they sound reasonable to you. Please let me know if you’d like anything changed before I pull the underlying data and start the computation.

1. Universe of tradable symbols • Default I would use: all primary-listed U.S. common stocks and ADRs that have been active since 01-Jan-2022 (≈ 4,000 names). • Alternative: limit to constituents of a benchmark (e.g., S&P 1500) or to stocks above a minimum price.

2. Ranking metric • Daily share-volume (not dollar-volume). • Rank is based on the day’s total volume at the close.

3. Rebalance & holding rule • Buy the top 500 names at the close of day t. • Sell those exact positions at the close of day t + 1 (one-day holding period). • Positions are equal-weighted at entry.

4. Price series used for P&L • Entry price: same-day close. • Exit price: following day’s close. • We will calculate gross returns (commission and slippage = 0 by default, unless you’d like to include trading costs).

5. Back-test window • Start date: 2022-01-03 (first trading day of 2022). • End date: latest available trading day (2025-10-01).

6. Output • Daily portfolio return series. • Cumulative equity curve. • Common performance stats (CAGR, volatility, Sharpe, max drawdown, hit ratio, etc).

Please confirm (or adjust) these settings and I’ll begin the data retrieval and back-test.