NEW YORK (Reuters) – Retail investors bought $4.7 billion in stocks on Thursday, the highest level over the past decade, JPMorgan said in a note on Friday.
The historic “buy-to-dip” move by retail investors included names such as Nvidia, Amazon and S&P exchange-traded funds, but they sold Tesla.
Small-cap technology was one of individuals’ favorite sector picks amid the meltdown, while institutional investors have increased their bets against the sector.
The S&P 500 plunged 4.9% on Thursday, its biggest one-day percentage loss since June 2020. The fall was triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of new import tariffs, which sparked fears of a global recession.
Retail investors’ buying spree on Thursday was in contrast to their behavior during the COVID-inspired selloff in March 2020, JPMorgan said.
JPMorgan said that retail performance on Thursday was in line with the losses posted by S&P 500 index on the day, while individuals’ stock portfolios are down 12.9% year-to-date on average, below the index.
(Reporting by Carolina Mandl in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
