Individual investors are increasingly shaping price action across stocks and ETFs, with retail traders accounting for USD 5.4 tn in trading activity last year, marking a 47% y-o-y jump and the highest level on record since at least 2014, according to data from the research firm Vanda cited by the Associated Press.

After years of being dismissed on Wall Street as “dumb money,” retail investors have, at times, outperformed two of the most popular professionally managed index ETFs — SPY and QQQ. They are now a force to be reckoned with, or as Interactive Brokers’ Steve Sosnick puts it, “if you put enough ants together, they can move a very big log.”

No-commission trading apps, social media investing communities, and digital research tools have encouraged individuals to trade independently rather than entrusting their savings to managed funds. The pandemic lockdowns offered time and motivation, drawing mns to investment platforms during a period when the S&P 500 posted an almost uninterrupted climb since 2015.

At the same time, households accelerated the shift of moving idle money from checking accounts into investment vehicles, increasing transfers by 50% from 2023 to early 2025, according to a JPMorgan Chase report cited by the newswire. Analysts also note that some younger Americans, priced out of the housing market, have redirected their savings into equities instead.

Retail traders also have an increased appetite for risk. When the S&P 500 shed more than 10% over two days last April following unexpected tariff announcements by US President Donald Trump, retail investors bought more than USD 5 bn in stocks during the selloff. They did the same in October during another tariff-driven decline. Retail investors have also moved beyond stocks into riskier vehicles, with options trading alone accounting for roughly USD 650 bn of retail activity last year, according to Vanda.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asia-Pacific equities started out early trading in the green, as upbeat earnings from Nvidia eased panic over AI-driven disruption and ballooning costs. Japan’s Nikkei rose to a record high this morning. Meanwhile, futures edged much lower.

ADX

10,638

0.0% (YTD: +6.5%)

DFM

6,676

+0.1% (YTD: +10.4%)

Nasdaq Dubai UAE20

5,572

+0.1% (YTD: +14.0%)

USD : AED CBUAE

Buy 3.67

Sell 3.67

EIBOR

3.4% o/n

3.6% 1 yr

TASI

10,848

-0.5% (YTD: +3.4%)

EGX30

49,014

-2.7% (YTD: +17.1%)

S&P 500

6,946

+0.8% (YTD: +1.5%)

FTSE 100

10,806

+1.2% (YTD: +8.8%)

Euro Stoxx 50

6,173

+0.9% (YTD: +6.6%)

Brent crude

USD 70.97

+0.3%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.87

+1.3%

Gold

USD 5,226

+1.0%

BTC

USD 68,383

+6.8% (YTD: -22.0%)

Chimera JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF

AED 3.71

0.0% (YTD: -1.1%)

S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk

153.66

0.0% (YTD: +1.2%)

VIX (Volatility Index)

17.93

-8.3% (YTD: +19.9%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The DFM rose 0.1% yesterday on turnover of AED 1.0 bn. The index is up 10.4% YTD.

In the green: Agility The Public Warehousing Company (+6.3%), BHM Capital Financial Services (+4.1%), and Al Salam Sudan (+2.5%).

In the red: Islamic Arab Ins. Company (-5.9%), Dubai Islamic Ins. and Reins. Co. (-4.4%), and Talabat Holding (-2.9%).

Over on the ADX, the index remained flat on turnover of AED 1.4 bn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was up 0.1%.

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