Investors pounce on US, China opportunities | Michael McCarthy
Local investors traded in expectation of Trump's US election win
Big name tech stocks remain a standout favourite
A spike in China-aligned stocks and ETFs followed stimulus activity in the world's second-largest economy
Moomoo Australia's list of most-traded stocks last month reveal just how important the US election and Federal Reserve interest rates have been to Australian investors. We saw strong interest in hot stocks, including big tech as well as index and leveraged ETFs – all traded on US exchanges.
Our latest, most-traded stocks list also demonstrates an increasing priority for international diversification among Australian share investors.
That's because it is so easy now, via platforms such as moomoo Australia, to invest directly in US and Hong Kong listed stocks.
Investors can spread their share market risk across economies, industries and sectors not as readily available locally.
Trading the US election
Two factors highlighted the importance of the US election: the outright dominance of US stocks and ETFs and, in particular, the appearance of Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT) on moomoo Australia's most-traded list in October.
DJT's underlying financials are very difficult to reconcile with a market capitalisation measured in billions of US dollars. But that hasn't stopped it from acting as a trading token, fluctuating with Trump's perceived political fortunes.
The tussle between Nvidia and Apple to be the world's most valuable stock caught attention, with both stocks appearing alongside a number of other household names on moomoo Australia's most-traded list.
As it was in September, Nvidia is still the most-traded stock on moomoo Australia. And the presence of Advanced Micro Devices, Palantir, Taiwan Semiconductor and Intel among the most popular stocks reflects ongoing interest in this investment theme.
Reinforcing the popularity of US stocks among moomoo Australia users was Google owner Alphabet,Lucid, Microsoft and Tesla also ranking high in October.
Other US stocks that made the top 20 were Granite Shares'2X Long NVIDIA ETF, which delivers twice the daily performance of Nvidia, as well as the T-Rex MSTR 2X ETF and the Direxion Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF.
China's moves in late September to stimulate its economy also caught the eye of investors and drew them to the Hong Kong exchange.
The e-commerce services platform Meituan was heavily traded, while the US-listed Direxion China Bull 3X ETF also held its appeal.
Taking advantage of the troublemakers
Many of the most popular stocks are well-known success stories and in many cases, they delivered higher investment returns for their loyal shareholders.
However, there was clear evidence that company troubles attract interest. Two of the most traded stocks in October were Rivian Automotive and Super Micro Computer.
Rivian shares have halved in value since a July peak and are now trading at one-twentieth of their all-time high.
The EV manufacturer reported a drop in production due to a lack of components and will likely report declining sales in the current quarter for the first time.
Super Micro Computer's share price is now less than one-tenth of its peak valuation in March this year. While it is not entirely clear what has gone wrong at the company, the failure to lodge financial accounts and the resignation of its auditors are bad news enough.
In both cases the continued pummeling of their share prices lifted trading activity. Some investors were cutting losses, others were bargaining hunting, with the volatility attracting traders looking for shorter term profits.
Rounding out the most popular stocks list are a number of straightforward ETFs that track major indices.
Vanguard's ASX-traded VAS over Australian shares and its VOO over the US S&P 500 index both featured among the most traded, possibly as investors locked in profits ahead of November’s important market-risk events.
The core-and-satellite investment strategy involves creating a core holding of higher quality stocks and/or index ETFs and surrounding them with higher risk and growth potential stocks.
Our October list of most-traded stocks suggests this strategy is popular among investors using moomoo Australia.
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