While markets struggled to sustain gains,
strong earnings reports drove retail investor engagement in the
markets
The Investor Movement Index® declined for a fourth consecutive
month in April 2018, slipping 8 percent from the prior month to
4.79, TD Ameritrade, Inc.1 announced today. 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 actually were doing and how they
were positioned in the markets.
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TD Ameritrade April 2018 Investor
Movement Index (Graphic: TD Ameritrade)
April IMX
The April 2018 Investor Movement Index for the four weeks ended
April 27, 2018 reveals:
- Reading: 4.79 (compared to 5.22 in
March)
- Trend direction: Negative
- Trend length: 4 month
- Score relative to historic ranges:
Moderately Low
As U.S. markets continued to experience elevated volatility
relative to what has been experienced in recent years, TD
Ameritrade clients lowered their overall exposure to equity
markets, causing the IMX to drop in April. However, they still
showed interest in a few specific names, including Apple Inc.
(AAPL) and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN).
“Clients seemed to use the continued climb in oil prices to the
70 dollar level as an opportunity to rotate out of oil names, such
as Transocean Ltd. and National Oilwell Varco, Inc., while the
millennial population chose not to reduce exposure to energy stocks
this month,” said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD
Ameritrade.
TD Ameritrade clients were net buyers of some volatile names
during the April IMX period, including:
- Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), for a third
consecutive month and following better than expected earnings.
- Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), for a fifth
consecutive month and after beating earnings.
- AT&T Inc. (T), as the company
traded lower following an earnings miss.
- Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT),
following the company’s IPO early in the period.
- Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), as
the company beat its anticipated earnings.
- Square, Inc. (SQ), as the company
announced it would acquire the technology company, Weebly,
Inc.
Despite being net buyers, TD Ameritrade clients found equities
to sell during the period, including:
- ConocoPhillips (COP), as oil prices
traded near 3-year highs on higher global demand.
- BP p.l.c. (BP), as it traded at
multi-year highs.
- Transocean Ltd. (RIG) and National
Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV), as both reached 52-week highs.
- Alcoa Corporation (AA), after trading
at new highs following proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Markets continued to be volatile at the start of the April
period as attention shifted from geopolitical tensions to earnings
season. While elevated volatility carried over from March into
April, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) retreated to monthly lows as
the S&P 500 broke through what had previously been a major
upside resistance level. This quickly changed as the yield on
the key 10-year Treasury note was finally able to establish itself
above the 3 percent level. As a result of this and tepid
forecasts from CEOs, markets quickly fell lower and the VIX
increased once again.
“Investors will likely continue to monitor corporate earnings,
likely paying close attention to CEO comments, in addition to
economic data pointing to inflationary pressures building in the
economy for the remainder of May,” said Kinahan.
About the IMX
The IMX value is calculated based on a complex proprietary
formula. Each month, TD Ameritrade pulls a sample from its client
base of more than 11 million funded accounts, which 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 January 2010; to view the full
report from April 2018; 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 Corporation
TD Ameritrade provides investing services and education to more
than 11 million client accounts totaling $1.2 trillion in assets,
and custodial services to more than 6,000 registered investment
advisors. We are a leader in U.S. retail trading, executing an
average of more than 940,000 trades per day for our clients, nearly
a quarter of which come from mobile devices. We have a proud
history of innovation, dating back to our start in 1975, and today
our team of 10,000-strong is committed to carrying it forward.
Together, we are leveraging the latest in cutting edge technologies
and one-on-one client care to transform lives, and investing, for
the better. Learn more by visiting TD Ameritrade’s newsroom at
www.amtd.com, or read our stories at Fresh Accounts.
1TD Ameritrade, Inc. is a broker-dealer subsidiary of TD
Ameritrade Holding Corporation. Brokerage services provided by
TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA (www.FINRA.org) /SIPC
(www.SIPC.org)
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180507005475/en/
TD Ameritrade Holding CorporationFor Media:Becky Niiya,
402-574-6652Communications & Public
Affairsrebecca.niiya@tdameritrade.com@TDAmeritradePRorFor
Investors:Jeff Goeser, 402-597-8464Investor
Relationsjeffrey.goeser@tdameritrade.com
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