Adds post
Nasdaq leads Wall Street gains, Dow edges down
Consumer discretionary is top sector gainer, utilities is biggest loser
Dollar rises, gold down 0.9%, crude up slightly, bitcoin up >2%
U.S. Treasury 10-year yield edges up to ~4.099%
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com.
RETAIL INVESTORS FLOOD BACK INTO STOCKS AS AI BUZZ, TECH EARNINGS IGNITE RISK APPETITE
Retail investors are charging back into equities, with JPMorgan flagging a sharp pickup in flows as AI headlines dominated in the most pivotal stretches of third-quarter earnings season.
After a quiet start to the week, retail buying re-accelerated over the past two sessions, with total inflows into cash equities hitting $7.5 billion, well above the year-to-date average of $6.4 billion. That includes $4.7 billion into ETFs and $2.8 billion into single stocks, according to JPMorgan data.
October is shaping up to be one of the strongest months for retail activity this year, with month-to-date purchases reaching $27 billion, far exceeding the $22 billion average seen from May through September, JPMorgan said.
“This last leg higher is reflective of retail/low-quality bid taking hold," according to JPMorgan trading desk commentary seen by Reuters, pointing to renewed momentum chasing in AI-linked names and speculative tech plays.
Tech giants Alphabet GOOGL.O, Microsoft MSFT.O, Meta META.O and Amazon AMZN.O all announced plans for higher annual capital expenditures as they pour money into chips and data centers. Earlier this week Nvidia NVDA.O became the first company to clinch $5 trillion in market value.
AI enthusiasm continues to fuel retail flows, with Invesco's tech-heavy QQQ ETF QQQ.O emerging as the most purchased ETF this week. JPMorgan also flagged outsized interest in Nokia NOK.N after Nvidia NVDA.O announced a $1 billion investment in the Finnish telecom firm, an unusual move that sparked retail buying in a stock typically outside the AI spotlight.
The renewed retail bid comes as Wall Street digests a wave of earnings from Big Tech, softer inflation data, and shifting expectations around interest rate cuts.
Earlier JPMorgan had warned that valuations in megacap tech are flashing late-1990s-style warning signs. "The multiples are extremely elevated and similar to 1990's bubble," the note said, citing Microsoft at 57x free cash flow, Google and Meta at 47x, Amazon at 104x, and Apple at 42x.
(Medha Singh)
*****
EARLIER ON LIVE/ MARKETS:
OPTIMISM GAINS WHILE PESSIMISM TAKES A DIP: AAII CLICK HERE
PASSIVE INVESTING TAKES LEAD IN 2025, JEFFERIES SAYS CLICK HERE
MORGAN STANLEY DROPS LONG EURO, YEN CALL VS DOLLAR CLICK HERE
NASDAQ RALLIES AS AMAZON, NVIDIA OFFER HALLOWEEN TREATS CLICK HERE
POTENTIAL FOR "ONE OF THE MORE CONSEQUENTIAL BOE MEETINGS IN RECENT MEMORY" CLICK HERE
WHITHER EUROPEAN BANK STOCKS? CLICK HERE
STERLING CREDIT LOOKING CHEAP AHEAD OF THE UK BUDGET CLICK HERE
EUROPEAN SHARES SET FOR WEEKLY LOSS CLICK HERE
BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES STEADY BUT ANOTHER MONTH OF GAINS CLICK HERE
NO TRICKS, SOME TREATS FOR MARKETS CLICK HERE