Options trading by individual investors is fading, the latest sign that the stock market's speculative fever has broken.
Those individual investors had embraced options as a way of riding the stock market's momentum that drove shares of companies from $Apple(AAPL.US)$ to $NVIDIA(NVDA.US)$ to new heights. Now, the Federal Reserve's move to raise interest rates to tame inflation has thrown that dynamic into reverse, sending the prices of stocks skidding.
Individual investors made up 26% of total options activity in March, down from nearly 30% early last year. That marked the lowest level since March 2020, though was still well above prepandemic levels, according to calculations by Bloomberg Intelligence's Larry Tabb, who analyzed figures from the 12 largest online brokers.

Meanwhile, their share of stock-trading activity hit a low of 10.7% in January, based on data from the largest brokers. Activity has ticked up slightly since then but remains below levels last year when it peaked at 21%.

A punishing stretch of volatility has prompted many individual investors to abandon a host of momentum trades such as blank-check companies known as SPACs, crypto plays like nonfungible tokens and unprofitable technology companies. The aversion to risk has rippled out through markets, dragging down the S&P 500 16% this year. Many pandemic-era darlings like $Netflix(NFLX.US)$ and $PayPal(PYPL.US)$ have fallen much further.
"There was a real herd behavior" last year, said Viraj Patel, a global macro strategist at Vanda Research in London. "It's really hard to pick who's going to be winning in this environment."
In the week ahead, investors will be parsing commentary from Federal Reserve speakers as well as data on the housing market and consumer spending for clues on the path of interest rates and the economy. The Fed has become the driving force in markets, with many investors fearing its quest to tame inflation will result in a recession.
In light of this, the share of bullish call-options trades by individual investors has plunged to the lowest level since April 2020, another sharp reversal since the onset of the pandemic. Investors had rushed to scoop up options tied to companies like electric-vehicle maker $NIO Inc(NIO.US)$ and $GameStop(GME.US)$ as a way to turbocharge their bets that the stocks would keep rising. Those trades have slipped in popularity as the stocks have fallen 55% and 34%, respectively, this year.
"Last year, I would be much more aggressive," said Steve Dez, a 30-year-old actor who travels between California and Puerto Rico, of his options trading. This year, "the momentum loses steam quicker."
Calls give investors the right, but not the obligation, to buy shares at specific prices by a stated date. Because options allow traders to put down a relatively small sum of cash for potentially huge returns if their bets are right, investors can use them to magnify gains. However, the options can expire worthless and investors can lose their initial investments.
"Across the industry, [retail] options volume has seen something of a pullback," said Shawn Cruz, head trade strategist at TD Ameritrade. "Retail clients are moving away from single-name equity options and into broader, macro-based options like [exchange-traded funds] and index options."
Individual investors have also been increasing their exposure to exchange-traded funds, according to data from Vanda Research. Funds tracking the $S&P 500 index(.SPX.US)$ and $NASDAQ 100 Index(.NDX.US)$, alongside those offering turbocharged exposure to tech stocks, have been among the most popular. That helped purchases of ETFs by individual investors hit an eight-year high in early May.
Paul Soucy, a 65-year-old retired teacher in Cape Cod, said he has shifted from trading meme stocks like $AMC Entertainment(AMC.US)$ and SPACs to buying shares of consumer staples like snacks company $Mondelez International(MDLZ.US)$ and dividend-paying stocks that he thinks will perform well as inflation soars.
Mr. Soucy said he has been alarmed by some of the sharp post-earnings drops in individual stocks, making the market more unpredictable and tougher to trade options and shares.
"The market's been kind of crazy," Mr. Soucy said. "Some of the months I wasn't doing so well."
Of course, some of last year's strategies have retained their allure. Many individual investors have continued buying the dip in the stock market this year, fueling record amounts of purchases. Even meme stocks have come roaring back at times. And buying big tech stocks remains popular despite the volatility, according to Vanda Research.
One trade, in particular, shows no signs of abating. Options on $Tesla(TSLA.US)$ have remained the most popular among individual investors this year, Vanda Research estimates, just as they were last year. The company's shares have tumbled 27% this year.
Write to Gunjan Banerji at gunjan.banerji@wsj.com
個人投資者的期權交易正在消退,這是股市投機熱潮已經消退的最新跡象。
這些個人投資者將期權視為利用股市勢頭的一種方式,股市勢頭推動公司股價從$Apple(AAPL.US)$至$NVIDIA(NVDA.US)$達到新的高度。現在,美聯儲提高利率以抑制通脹的舉措已經扭轉了這一趨勢,導致股票價格下滑。
3月份,個人投資者占期權交易總量的26%,低於去年年初的近30%。這是自2020年3月以來的最低水平,但根據彭博情報(Bloomberg Intelligence)的拉里·塔布(Larry Tabb)的計算,仍遠高於普遍存在的水平。塔布分析了12家最大的在線經紀商的數據。

與此同時,根據最大券商的數據,它們在股票交易活動中的份額在1月份跌至10.7%的低點。自那以來,房地產活動略有回升,但仍低於去年21%的峰值水平。

劇烈的波動性促使許多個人投資者放棄了大量的動量交易,比如被稱為SPAC的空白支票公司、不可替代令牌之類的加密遊戲,以及無利可圖的科技公司。對風險的厭惡情緒在市場中蔓延開來,拖累標準普爾500指數今年下跌了16%。許多大流行時代的寵兒,比如$Netflix(NFLX.US)$和$PayPal(PYPL.US)$都進一步下降了。
倫敦萬達研究公司的全球宏觀策略師維拉傑·帕特爾(Viraj Patel)表示,去年「出現了真正的羊群行為」。「在這種環境下,真的很難挑選出誰會贏。」
未來一周,投資者將分析美聯儲發言人的評論,以及房地產市場和消費者支出數據,以尋找利率和經濟走勢的線索。美聯儲已成為市場的驅動力,許多投資者擔心,美聯儲抑制通脹的努力將導致經濟衰退。
有鑑於此,個人投資者看漲看漲期權交易的份額已跌至2020年4月以來的最低水平,這是自疫情爆發以來的又一次急劇逆轉。投資者爭相搶購與電動汽車製造商等公司相關的期權$NIO Inc(NIO.US)$和$GameStop(GME.US)$作為一種加大對股市將繼續上漲的押注的方式。隨着這些股票今年分別下跌55%和34%,這些交易的受歡迎程度有所下降。
在談到自己的期權交易時,30歲的史蒂夫·德茲(Steve Dez)談到自己的期權交易時說,「去年,我會更加積極。」今年,「勢頭更快地失去了動力。」
看漲期權賦予投資者在規定日期前以特定價格購買股票的權利,但不是義務。由於期權允許交易員在押注正確的情況下投入相對較少的現金,以獲得潛在的巨額回報,投資者可以利用期權放大收益。然而,期權到期後可能一文不值,投資者可能會失去他們的初始投資。
在整個行業中,[零售]期權成交量出現了某種程度的回落,「TD ameritrade首席交易策略師肖恩·克魯茲表示。」零售客戶正從單一名稱的股票期權轉向更廣泛的、基於宏觀的期權,如[交易所買賣基金]和指數期權。
萬達研究的數據顯示,個人投資者也一直在增加對交易所交易基金的敞口。跟蹤基金的$S&P 500 index(.SPX.US)$和$NASDAQ 100 Index(.NDX.US)$與那些提供科技股渦輪增壓敞口的公司一樣,它們一直是最受歡迎的公司之一。這幫助個人投資者在5月初購買了ETF,達到8年來的最高水平。
科德角 65 歲的退休教師保羅·蘇西(Paul Soucy)表示,他已經從交易$AMC Entertainment(AMC.US)$和 SPAC 等股票轉向購買零食公司 $Mondelez International(MDLZ.US)$等消費必需品的股票和支付股息的股票。 他認為隨着通貨膨脹的飆升會表現良好。
蘇西說,他對個股盈利後的一些大幅下跌感到震驚,這讓市場變得更加不可預測,期權和股票的交易也變得更加困難。
「市場有點瘋狂,」蘇西說。「有幾個月我做得不是很好。」
當然,去年的一些策略保留了它們的吸引力。許多個人投資者繼續買入今年股市下跌的股票,推動了創紀錄的買入規模。甚至連表情包庫存也時不時地捲土重來。萬達研究公司(Vanda Research)表示,儘管波動性較大,但購買大型科技股仍很受歡迎。
特別是一種貿易,沒有減弱的跡象。萬達研究公司估計,和去年一樣,$Tesla(TSLA.US)$仍然是今年最受個人投資者歡迎的股票。該公司股價今年已暴跌27%。
寫信給Gunjan Banerji,電子郵件:gan jan.banerji@wsj.com