$4 billion poured in in one day! Retail investors bet hard on Trump’s TACO winning again
Retail investors are not included here
On Tuesday, when the S&P 500 index suffered its largest drop in three months, individual investors poured $4 billion into U.S. stocks. Another $2.3 billion flowed in on Wednesday, coinciding with Trump's announcement to halt tariff threats, triggering a rebound, followed by a 1.2% surge in the stock market, and another 0.6% increase on Thursday, essentially erasing the decline from the first day.
Any drop triggered primarily by the threat of punitive tariffs is a “golden buying opportunity.”
The scale of the inflows indicates that retail investors remain generally optimistic about risk assets.
The influx of funds was mainly driven by large purchases of funds such as Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.
“We all know Trump’s playbook now. He threatens to make big moves, and once he succeeds, he pulls back. The market overreacts, and this becomes a great buying opportunity.
This level is comparable to last year’s major buying opportunities during dips.
Tech stocks continue to dominate retail demand, followed by consumer discretionary and communication services.
Investors have begun to diversify their investments.
The daily average volume of stocks and options traded by individual investors is over 40% higher than the January average from 2020 to 2025.
Retail fund inflows have continued for seven weeks, and in 37 out of the past 38 weeks, there has been a decisive tendency to buy, reinforcing the view that individual investors remain a strong bullish force supporting U.S. stocks.