Some of the last bulls at the party are finally yielding to the bear market, bailing from stocks at the fastest rate in nearly two years.
Retail investors, who'd almost always bought the dip since the pandemic crash, exited shares in the past week, with sales reaching the heaviest since September 2020, according to an estimate by JPMorgan Chase & Co. based on public data on exchanges.
The exodus marks a notable shift for small-time traders who mostly hung on during the $15 trillion selloff this year.
Sentiment is finally cratering with losses piling up in their favorite stocks as well as cryptocurrencies, says JPMorgan strategist Peng Cheng.
"There's been a trend of weakening demand," Cheng said in an interview. "It's fair to say that retail has capitulated."
But broadly speaking, the once-euphoric buying is cooling.
Retail demand tracked by JPMorgan has been below one-year average for the last eight weeks.
