Following April’s Record Setting Two-Year Low,
Net Equity Buying in May Spurs Third Largest Month-to-Month
Percentage Increase Since December 2012
TD Ameritrade, Inc. (“TD Ameritrade”), a broker-dealer
subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NYSE: AMTD), is
today releasing the Investor Movement Index® reading for May 2015.
The Investor Movement Index, or the IMXsm, is a proprietary,
behavior-based index created by TD Ameritrade that aggregates Main
Street investor positions and activity to measure what investors
are actually doing and how they are positioned in the markets.
This Smart News Release features multimedia.
View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150608006122/en/
The May 2015 Investor Movement Index for the four weeks ending
May 29, 2015, reveals:
- Reading: 4.91 (compared to 4.63 in
April)
- Trend direction: Positive
- Trend length: 1 month
- Score relative to historic ranges:
Middle
The IMX jumped higher to 4.91 in May while the S&P 500
slightly declined.
TD Ameritrade clients were net buyers of equities during the May
IMX period, which helped drive the IMX to its third largest
month-to-month percentage increase since tracking of the index
began in December 2012. Net buying of equities was not the only
factor in the increase, however, as some widely held positions saw
increases in volatility relative to the overall market, which
helped to further the increase in the IMX.
The month of May began with the S&P 500, Dow Jones
Industrial Average, NASDAQ Composite, and Russell 2000 giving up
some of the gains they saw in April. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones
Industrial Average rallied mid-month to set new all-time highs in
the fourth week. Both indexes declined during the fifth week and
ended the period near where they began. The NASDAQ Composite, which
carried its new all-time high into the May IMX period, also traded
downward through the third week of the month and rallied into the
fourth week. It also finished the month very near where it began.
Despite the dips in the U.S. equity market indexes during the
beginning of the month, volatility in the S&P 500, as measured
by the VIX, traded below 12 for the first time since early December
2014, and set a new year-to-date low for the second month in a row.
Unemployment numbers—which have been noted as a key indicator of
economic health by the Federal Reserve, and which they have hinted
will play into their decision to raise rates—remained unchanged in
April at 5.4% and non-farm payrolls for March were revised down.
These numbers seemed to further reduce investor’s concerns of a
near-term interest rate hike. In contrast to the U.S. equity market
indexes, the 10-Year Treasury rate trended upward for the first
three weeks of May, and declined only slightly to finish the month
above where it began.
“Over the past six months, retail investors had been reducing
overall equity market exposure in the form of profit taking as the
markets pushed to higher highs,” said Nicole Sherrod, managing
director of trading, TD Ameritrade. “May presented a buying
opportunity as many stocks retail has favored in the past dropped
to more appealing entry levels. This helped drive the IMX to its
third largest month over month percentage increase in over 2
years.”
Popular social media stock Twitter Inc. (TWTR) —which lost
nearly a quarter of its value when disappointing earnings were
leaked before market close, and then saw its volatility relative to
the overall market increase—was a net buy in May as TD Ameritrade
clients appeared to see opportunity at the new, lower price.
LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) was another social media name that also saw a
steep decline surrounding its earnings announcement and was a net
buy. Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and Apple Inc. (AAPL), both of which
traded downward after setting new highs around their earnings
announcements, were also net buys. Walt Disney Co. (DIS), which
also traded at a new all-time high following its earnings
announcement, was another net buy.
Financial sector issuers Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and
Citigroup Inc. (C), which both traded upward in May, were popular
net sells. Widely held dividend payers Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and
General Electric Co. (GE) were both net sells as well. Sirius XM
Holdings Inc. (SIRI) was net sold in May as it rose slightly from a
level of support around $3.80 during the month. Mining company
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) was also net sold, as it traded at a
year-to-date high.
The IMX value is calculated based on a complex proprietary
formula. Each month, TD Ameritrade pulls a sample from its client
base of 6 million funded accounts that includes all accounts that
completed a trade in the past month. The holdings and positions of
this statistically significant sample are evaluated to calculate
individual scores, and the median of those scores represents the
monthly IMX.
For more information on the Investor Movement Index, including
historical IMX data going back to December 2010, to view the full
report from May 2015, or to sign up for future IMX news alerts,
please visit www.tdameritrade.com/IMX. Additionally, TD Ameritrade
clients can chart the IMX using the symbol $IMX in either the
thinkorswim or TD Ameritrade Mobile Trader platforms.
Inclusion of specific security names in this commentary does not
constitute a recommendation from TD Ameritrade to buy, sell, or
hold.
Past performance of a security, strategy or index is no
guarantee of future results or investment success.
Historical data should not be used alone when making investment
decisions. Please consult other sources of information and consider
your individual financial position and goals before making an
independent investment decision.
The IMX is not a tradable index. The IMX should not be used as
an indicator or predictor of future client trading volume or
financial performance for TD Ameritrade.
For the latest TD Ameritrade news and information, follow the
Company on Twitter, @TDAmeritradePR.
Source: TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation
About TD Ameritrade Holding CorporationMillions of
investors and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs)
have turned to TD Ameritrade’s (NYSE:AMTD) technology, people and
education to help make investing and trading easier to understand
and do. Online or over the phone. In a branch or with an
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Ameritrade has time and again been recognized as a leader in
investment services. Please visit TD Ameritrade’s newsroom or
www.amtd.com for more information.
Brokerage services provided by TD Ameritrade, Inc., member
FINRA (www.FINRA.org)/SIPC (www.SIPC.org)
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150608006122/en/
TD AmeritradeFor Media:Beth Evegan, 201-369-5930Communications
& Public
Affairsbeth.evegan@tdameritrade.com@TDAmeritradePRorFor
Investors:Jeff Goeser, 402-597-8464Investor Relations &
Financejeffrey.goeser@tdameritrade.com
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