Retail investors around the world are pouring money into US tech stocks amid the recent rally in global share prices, new data from eToro reveals. Fresh statistics show investors are flocking towards the high-growth US tech scene, which is seen by many as the main driving force behind the recent upturn in markets.
The number of retail investors buying shares in Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, Alphabet (Google), and Netflix in June surged by 55 per cent, 124 per cent, 103 per cent, 111 per cent and 69 per cent, respectively compared with the previous month, the data shows.
There was also a large rise in the number of people buying in NVIDIA (+27 per cent), Disney (+66 per cent) and US semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices (70 per cent).
Adam Vettese, analyst at eToro, says: “2020 has been one of the most remarkable years on records for markets and a rollercoaster for investors. Not only have we seen the biggest market sell-off in history, which wiped trillions of dollars off share prices, but also one of the quickest recoveries. US markets have just seen their best quarter in over a decade.
“The rally in global share prices is being driven by the US tech giants, particularly in the past few weeks. Therefore, it’s not surprising that investors want to latch onto these fast-growing behemoths after what was a hugely painful shock to markets earlier this year.
“That said, while a lot of tech companies are currently showing strong signs of growth, many of them are very expensive compared to their earnings. While that is not necessarily a bad thing, it means gaining exposure to that growth in your portfolio can come at quite a hefty price.”
The latest monthly data comes as eToro, which has 13 million registered users globally, reveals that its trading volume in the first half of the year was over USD600 billion, up 130 per cent from the same period last year.
