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TD Ameritrade Investor Movement Index: With Wall Street Sell-Off, IMX Ends Year at Lowest Point in 2018Following a rocky month for the U.S. stock market, the TD Ameritrade1 December Investor Movement Index® (IMXSM) continued its downward trend for the third consecutive month to 4.41, a 16 percent decline from its November reading of 5.27. The IMX is a proprietary, behavior-based index, aggregating Main Street investor positions and activity to measure what investors actually were doing and how they were positioned in the markets. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190107005729/en/ TD Ameritrade December 2018 Investor Movement Index (Graphic: TD Ameritrade) The reading for the four-week period ending December 31, 2018, puts the IMX at its lowest since April 2016, when it also hit 4.41 in response to a period of extreme market volatility. As such, this reading ranks "Low" relative to historic ranges. TD Ameritrade clients were net sellers of equities for the second month in a row, although they were net buyers of Treasuries, fixed income products and other lower volatility securities. "December was a culmination of investor anxiety over future economic growth and uncertain policy out of Washington," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. "I expect the rise in volatility to continue until the market gets more clarity, particularly on trade, and we'll see what happens with the next round of earnings reports." Throughout December, the S&P 500 was down 9.9 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9.7 percent. The Nasdaq Composite also headed lower and was down 10.2 percent, entering a bear market, which is defined as a 20 percent drop from recent highs. Late in the month, the Dow surged more than 1,000 in one trading session, the largest one-day point gain ever, but it wasn't enough to overcome losses on the index for the period. Many TD Ameritrade clients used December's volatility to acquire, frequently buying equities during market dips. Top equity buys included:
Throughout the month, retail investors at TD Ameritrade also sold popular names, including:
2018 in Review The five most popular stocks sold throughout the year by clients were Facebook (FB), Apple (News - Alert) (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and ConocoPhillips (COP). Volatility impacted the markets in early 2018, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 4.6 percent on Feb. 5, 2018 - the biggest one-day decline since August, 2011 during the European debt crisis. In response, the IMX decreased for four consecutive months at the beginning of 2018. The IMX then rebounded in spring and continued rising during summer following better-than-expected earnings and increasing equity markets. Today's investor uncertainty continues to fuel an ongoing IMX decline, which has so far spanned Oct. - Dec. 2018.
About the IMX 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 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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