LIVE MARKETS-Retail investors hold steady as Wall Street climbs
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RETAIL INVESTORS HOLD STEADY AS WALL STREET CLIMBS
Wall Street's major indexes have reached fresh highs this week, but retail investors are showing restraint, according to J.P.Morgan's latest Retail Radar note.
Individual investors bought about $5.3 billion in net assets in the week ended Wednesday, according to JPM strategists. That figure is slightly above the two-month average of $5.2 billion per week, though it remains below the year-to-date weekly average of $6.4 billion, the strategists said.
Retail flows were concentrated in exchange-traded funds, with single-stock activity described as "very subdued." The cohort's weekly inflows into ETFs was $5.2 billion, far outpacing purchases in single stocks which stood at just $142 million, JPM said.
ETF purchases totaled $1.4 billion on Wednesday alone, marking the third-largest daily inflow outside of post-Liberation Day buying, the strategists added.
SPDR Gold Shares GLD.N and iShares Silver Trust SLV.P remained the most popular ETFs, supported by gold and silver prices reaching new highs, per JPM.
Non-retail investors shifted course, buying $8.1 billion in the past week, reversing a trend of consistent outflows. Their year-to-date weekly average stands at negative $8.4 billion, while the 12-month average is negative $8.7 billion.
Retail investors make up for about 20% of the total market volume, according to JPM data.
(Medha Singh)
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