The trading was very abnormal, Torvecian,
as I thought and you confirm. So I have cooked up an explanation in the heat of my own fevered brain. It is far-fetched perhaps, but it has logic to it and nothing else does, and a dash of melodrama, so I cannot resist putting it out:
Someone is deliberately sending a message to the faithful.
I do not infer there is a deal, or a certainty of anything, but only the message stand fast. Sort of a cheap thrill on my part, I guess.