Stronger volume in stock trading Friday could raise hopes that the eight-day blowout on Wall Street is pushing toward a capitulation bottom.

Over the past week the stock market has posted its biggest drop ever, tumbling some 18 percent and triggering angst and despair among both investors and traders on the floor.

The powerful selloff abated Friday, and there also was a bit more intense volume accompanying it: close to 3 billion shares trading hands, nearing what most experts consider enough for capitulation.