Markets Daily

Retail Traders Are Back and Driving All Sorts of Wild Stock Moves

Photonics, quantum computing are hot as market jumps to new highs.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
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Stock indexes are back at all-time highs. The Nasdaq 100 is up 12 days in a row. Photonics and quantum computing are hot market buzzwords. A former sneaker company’s foray into AI yielded a 582% gain one day and a 36% plunge the next.

Yep, retail traders are diving back into the action. A basket of shares favored by individual investors is on track for its best month relative to those preferred by mutual funds since 2020.