Retail investors are snapping up AI stocks! 291.2 billion was spent in a single week, a 15-year high, and the flow of funds was exposed

Retail investors are snapping up AI stocks! 291.2 billion was spent in a single week, a 15-year high. (Reuters)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] U.S. retail investors are returning to the artificial intelligence market with rare enthusiasm! The latest data from Citadel Securities shows that retail investors purchased a net US$9.1 billion (approximately NT$291.2 billion) in U.S. stocks through the company’s platform last week, setting a record for the largest single-week net purchase in the past 15 years. Funds mainly poured into stocks related to semiconductors and AI infrastructure, indicating that retail investors are re-betting on the main line of artificial intelligence investment.

Foreign media reported that Scott Rubner, head of equity and derivatives strategy at Citadel Securities, pointed out that this wave of buying does not simply reflect the increase in overall market trading enthusiasm, but retail investors have shown stronger confidence in specific investment directions. As funds flowed back into AI-related stocks and ETFs, the Nasdaq 100 Index and the S&P 500 Index also hit record highs, although market concerns about the AI ​​bubble have not subsided.

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Semiconductors and AI infrastructure have become the main targets for retail investors. Rubner's data shows that retail investors net purchased about US$2.6 billion (approximately NT$83.2 billion) in semiconductor stocks last week, the third-highest weekly purchase in the past year, and October is expected to be the largest net purchase of semiconductor stocks on the platform. As for AI infrastructure-related stocks, they also attracted approximately US$2.4 billion (approximately NT$76.8 billion) in net buying during the same period.

It is worth noting that chip stocks are still under pressure during this wave of capital reflow, and the market continues to pay attention to whether the AI ​​industry boom can continue. However, retail investors are still concentrated on buying semiconductors and AI infrastructure-related targets, reflecting that these groups are still the main direction of betting for some investors.

Rubner further pointed out that retail buying is characterized by an increase in directional bets rather than an increase in overall trading volume. Last week, retail buying volume was 2.7% higher than selling volume, and the degree of directional skew reached the 90th percentile of weekly data in the past year; however, the overall trading activity was only at the 42nd percentile of the past year, still below the average level.

In other words, retail investors are not increasing transactions across the board, but are buying promising stocks more intensively, especially AI-related groups. This also makes recent capital flows an important indicator of market investment sentiment.

However, the large-scale buying by retail investors does not mean that the subsequent rise of AI stocks is guaranteed. At a time when the market still has doubts about the sustainability of the AI ​​investment boom, whether this wave of record buying can continue will become an important focus for subsequent observation of the trend of U.S. stocks.

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