Individual Institutional
Sign in
Open account
Individuals Institutional

Call toll-free 800.328.1267

Login
[lwp_divi_breadcrumbs font_icon=”5||divi||400″ use_custom_home_link=”off” link_color=”#000000″ separator_color=”#000000″ current_text_color=”#FFFFFF” admin_label=”Breadcrumbs” module_class=”insight-breadcrumbs” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][/lwp_divi_breadcrumbs]

Market Insights

Bringing you the trading news around the world.

Clients Rush Back to ETFs as Volatility Pops

[showmodule id=”58959″]

Clients are rushing back to exchange-traded funds this month as volatility mounts.

Five of the 10 most heavily traded symbols with TradeStation in October are ETFs. That marks a sharp swing from September, when calm market conditions pushed attention toward single-name equities.

Remember that correlations increase along with volatility because stocks are immune when bears hit the market. That makes traders focus on broad-market indexes and ETFs during times of turbulence.

Here’s a breakdown of the busiest symbols for TradeStation clients so far this month. ETFs are marked with an asterisk (*):

  1. Apple (AAPL): The smart-phone giant rose from the No. 2 spot in September.
  2. *SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): The market-tracking fund rose from ninth on the list.
  3. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD): September’s busiest symbol is No. 3 so far in October.
  4. Netflix (NFLX): Earnings lifted the video company from No. 7 to No. 4.
  5. Amazon.com (AMZN): The e-commerce giant slipped down one notch.
  6. *PowerShares QQQ Trust QQQ: The Nasdaq-tracking fund rose from 12th place in September. It hasn’t been in the top 10 since July.
  7. *ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term (UVXY): The market-inverse instrument returned to the top 10 for the first time in seven months, up from No. 25 in September.
  8. Nvidia (NVDA): The chip giant inched up from the tenth spot last month.
  9. *iPath S&P 500 VIX (VXX): The volatility-tracking fund rose from No. 15 in September.
  10. *ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ): The leveraged instrument rose from No. 17 in September.

These companies in September’s top 10 have fallen out of the top 10 so far in October:

  • Tilray (TLRY)
  • Micron Technology (MU)
  • Facebook (FB)
  • Tesla Motors (TSLA)

About the author

David Russell
David Russell is VP of Market Intelligence at TradeStation Group. Drawing on two decades of experience as a financial journalist and analyst, his background includes equities, emerging markets, fixed-income and derivatives. He previously worked at Bloomberg News, CNBC and E*TRADE Financial. Russell systematically reviews countless global financial headlines and indicators in search of broad tradable trends that present opportunities repeatedly over time. Customers can expect him to keep them apprised of sector leadership, relative strength and the big stories – especially those overlooked by other commentators. He’s also a big fan of generating leverage with options to limit capital at risk.

Related stories

View all
Stock Gains Widen as Investors Hope for Lower Inflation

Stock Gains Widen as Investors Hope for Lower Inflation

by | May 13, 2024

Money is flowing back into stocks as investors hope for a better inflation report this week. The S&P 500 rose 1.9 percent between Friday, May 3, and Friday, May 10. It was the third straight positive week. More than four-fifths of the index's members advanced,...

Chart of the Day: Oracle May Have Found Support

Chart of the Day: Oracle May Have Found Support

by | May 7, 2024

Oracle jumped to new highs almost two months ago. Now, after a pullback, the software giant may have found support. The first pattern on today’s chart is the gap higher on March 12 after earnings surprised to the upside. ORCL retraced the move and is starting to...