Clients increased overall exposure but were net sellers of equities
The June 2023 TD Ameritrade Investor Movement Index reveals investors reduced their exposure within the Consumer Discretionary, Industrials and Financials sectors. Visit https://www.tdameritrade.com/
July 10, 2023 — OMAHA, Neb.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Investor Movement Index® (IMXSM) increased to 5.46 in June, up from its score of 5.12 in May. The IMX is TD Ameritrade’s proprietary, behavior-based index, aggregating Main Street investor positions and activity to measure what investors actually were doing and how they were positioned in the markets.
The reading for the four-week period ending June 30, 2023 ranks “moderate low” compared to historic averages.
“In June, we again saw clients increasing their exposure overall, but net selling equities,” said Joe Mazzola, Director of Trading and Education at Charles Schwab. “We see this from time to time, including just last month. At a sector level, we did see strong buying interest in Information Technology, Health Care, and Consumer Staples, but clients were savvy in seizing some profit opportunities from names that soared during the month’s market rally.”
A Rally In Major Equities Indices
The June IMX period included macroeconomic catalysts and saw a rally in major equity indices as fears of further interest rate hikes and recession appeared to ease. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation report at the beginning of the month reflected a marginal increase in the unemployment rate, bringing the figure to 3.7%. Nonfarm payrolls added 339,000 jobs, in line with the monthly average. Together, the data paints a picture of a job market that remains tight. The May Consumer Price Index (CPI) was released the morning of June 13th and rose 0.1%. The All Items index rose 4% for the 12 months ending in May, which was the smallest 12-month increase since May 2021. The shelter, used cars and food indices reflected the largest increases, while the energy index declined by 3.6%. Equity markets mostly traded sideways after the report was released.
The latter part of the June period was characterized by a continued stock market rally, led by the Nasdaq 100 Index ($NDX), which rose 4.65% for the month. The S&P500 Index ($SPX) rose 3.44%. The CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) fell 13.16% in June to 13.59 as skittishness gave way to more bullish indicators. The yield on the 10 Year T-Note rose 6.7% during the period, closing at 3.844%. The US Dollar Index (DXY) fell slightly during the period, closing at 102.91 as currency pressures moderated. Front month WTI Crude Oil futures were down slightly during the period, closing at 70.64.
Despite increasing exposure, TD Ameritrade clients were net sellers of equities overall during the period.
Popular names bought included:
- Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
- Target Corp. (TGT)
- AT&T Inc. (T)
- Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)
- C3.ai Inc. (AI)
Names net sold during the period included:
- NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)
- Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)
- Boeing Co. (BA)
- Meta Platforms Inc. (META)
Millennial Buys & Sells
TD Ameritrade millennial clients increased their exposure during the June IMX period and, like the overall client population, were net sellers of equities.
The overall TD Ameritrade client population and TD Ameritrade millennial clients were net buyers of Disney (DIS) in June; theme-parks continue to perform well, but the stock has been weighed down by the poor box office performance of some recent theatrical releases, as well as continued pressure on the media giant’s streaming business. Target (TGT) was also a favorite purchase of both the overall and TD Ameritrade millennial client population; the stock has been beaten down so far this year, but found a foothold during the June IMX period, rallying from a June 13th low of $125.08. AT&T (T) was also bought by both populations ahead of a late July earnings report. Shares bottomed in early June and traders may have seen this as an attractive entry point.
The overall and TD Ameritrade millennial client populations both sold strength in Nvidia (NVDA) as shares made a new high of $437.15 on June 20th. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also hit a new high in June, and both client populations took profits in the chip-maker. Finally, both the overall and TD Ameritrade millennial client populations sold Tesla (TSLA), which rallied sharply in June and ahead of its earnings report expected in July, perhaps due in part to the company’s reported strategy to build out an extensive “super charger” network that will service Tesla vehicles as well as those from other manufacturers.
Looking at S&P500 sectors, TD Ameritrade millennial clients bought most heavily in Health Care, Consumer Staples, and Communication Services, while selling was most prevalent in the Consumer Discretionary, Financials, and Industrials sectors.
