Retail investors bearish on both S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 despite index rallies

  • Spectrum's SERIX® sentiment indicates a bearish trend for both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100, despite recent rises in points for the index
  • Both US indices are strongly driven by ‘Glorious Seven’ stocks: NVIDIA, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple and Tesla
  • NVIDIA remains the strongest single stock driving US indices, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) being a suspected primary driver of this trend 

Spectrum Markets (“Spectrum”), the pan-European trading venue designed for retail investors, has published its SERIX® sentiment data for European retail investors for June, revealing bearish trading behaviour for both US indices, S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100.

The SERIX® value for the S&P 500 fell to 93 points, whereas on June 28th at market closure, the S&P 500 index climbed up to 5,460 points1. Similarly, SERIX sentiment on NASDAQ 100 fell to 96 points while the index itself rose to 19,682 points2.

The SERIX® value indicates retail investor sentiment, with a number above 100 marking bullish sentiment, and a number below 100 indicating bearish sentiment. (See below for more information on the methodology).

Market opinion

“The strong performance of NVIDIA has significantly boosted both US indices. However, some retail investors may now be sceptical about the sustainability of this growth or may simply be engaging in profit-taking,” says Michael Hall, Head of Distribution at Spectrum Markets.

“Both US indices are strongly driven by the ‘Glorious Seven’ stocks: NVIDIA, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple and Tesla. Eight of the ten largest companies in the world are based in the United States, five of which are pure technology stocks closely tied to Artificial Intelligence (AI). The development and impact of AI will continue to play a crucial role and strongly influence both major US indices,” Hall concludes.

Spectrum’s June data

In June 2024, order book turnover on Spectrum was €201.5 million, with 34.7% of trades taking place outside of traditional hours (i.e., between 17:30 and 9:00 CET).

The order book turnover was distributed among various underlying assets as follows: 76.2% on indices, 5.1% on currency pairs, 8.9% on commodities, 8.1% on equities and 1.7% on cryptocurrencies. The top three traded underlying markets were NASDAQ 100 (26.2%), DAX 40 (23.9%), and DOW 30 (11.3%).

Looking at the SERIX® data for the top three underlying markets, the NASDAQ 100 and DOW 30 both remained bearish at 96 and 99 respectively, and the DAX 40 increased from a bearish 98 to a bullish  101. 

SERIX Chart June 2024


Calculating SERIX® data

The Spectrum European Retail Investor Index (SERIX®), uses the trading venue’s pan-European trading data to shed light on investor sentiment towards current development in financial markets.

The index is calculated on a monthly basis by analysing retail investor trades placed and subtracting the proportion of bearish trades from the proportion of bullish trades, to give a single figure (rebased at 100) that indicates the strength and direction of sentiment:

SERIX® = (% bullish trades - % bearish trades) + 100

Trades where long instruments are bought and trades where short instruments are sold are both considered bullish trades, while trades where long instruments are sold and trades where short instruments are bought are considered bearish trades. Trades that are matched by retail clients are disregarded. (For a detailed methodology and examples, please visit this link).

About Spectrum Markets 

Spectrum Markets is a pan-European trading venue for financial instruments aimed at financial institutions and their retail investors. Headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and with presence across Europe, Spectrum Markets was designed for transparency, integration and openness while enabling unparalleled access to the markets beyond traditional trading hours with 24/5 on-venue trading for the first time in Europe.

Since launch in August 2019, financial instruments listed on Spectrum Markets have been made available for retail trading in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Ireland and Finland.

Acting as a MiFID II regulated trading venue authorised and supervised by BaFin, Spectrum Markets uses a uniquely open architecture, allowing intermediaries and product providers to offer to retail investors a unique trading experience with increased choice, control and stability.

Being an MTF (Multilateral Trading Facility), Spectrum Markets provides access to innovative products designed to give European retail traders flexibility and control over their trades. This includes Turbo24, the world’s first 24-hour turbo warrant.

Through the pan-European ISIN, 24/5 trading services, intraday issuance and a fully proprietary venue, Spectrum Markets enables a guaranteed baseline level of liquidity over a range of products, is able to swiftly and safely match a significant number of orders, and to process messages with a low latency.

Spectrum Markets publishes SERIX® – the Spectrum European Retail Investor Index – a pan-European client sentiment that informs as to whether retail investors have taken exposure on a bullish or bearish view on a specific underlying. SERIX® is a measure based on trades made by retail investors across Europe which can be used to compare how sentiment has changed (in terms of directionality or strength of sentiment) over time on a monthly basis.

Spectrum Markets is a wholly owned subsidiary of IG Group (LSEG: IGG).

Further information can be found at spectrum-markets.com              

Media Contact

Liminal
T: +44 203 778 1103
E-Mail: vasiliki@liminalcomms.com

Disclaimer

All information contained herein is for information purposes only and addresses exclusively Members of Spectrum Markets and persons interested in becoming a Member of Spectrum Markets. Nothing herein constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any financial instrument(s) listed on Spectrum Markets or any product described herein. Spectrum Markets does not provide financial services, such as investment advice or investment brokering. Prospective retail investors can trade such products only with their brokers. The information herein does not constitute investment advice or an investment recommendation. Any information provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it.  
 

1 Source: apnews.com
2 Source: apnews.com