Retail traders don’t know what to do right now. JPMorgan strategists pointed out that the cohort was a net buyer of stocks to the tune of $1 billion on Monday. The S & P 500 dropped more than 1% that day, as global trade tensions ramped up. This buy-the-dip reaction has been the norm over the past year, as retail traders used pullbacks as opportunities to scoop up shares at a discount while broader market momentum showed no signs of slowing. “There’s still this … fear of missing out,” Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, told CNBC earlier this week. That’s because “for the better part of the last few years, every dip has been a buying opportunity.” Things got wonky over the next two days, though. Small investors on Tuesday sold $1.2 billion in equities during the first hour of trading — as stocks took another leg lower due to mounting trade worries. Then, they bought $2 billion during the first half of the day on Wednesday to end the session with a $3.7 billion equity inflow, as the S & P 500 rallied on hopes there would be some U.S. tariff exemptions for particular industries. The latest global trade developments are contributing to retail traders’ confusion. The U.S. earlier this week imposed tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and increased tariffs on China. Canada and Mexico then retaliated with levies on U.S. products, while Mexico said it would reveal measures on Sunday. The White House said it would give automakers a one-month exemption to tariffs. The Trump administration was also reportedly assessing agricultural exemptions for Mexico and Canada. Stocks could get some support if trade worries dim, which would make it easier for retail traders to continue buying the dip. Until then, the group may want to stay on its toes. Elsewhere Thursday morning on Wall Street, Loop Capital upgraded Marvell Technology to buy from hold even after the stock sold off on quarterly results that failed to impress investors. “Following better-than-expected 4Q25 (Jan) results and above-consensus 1Q26 (Apr) guidance, and given the near-40% correction in the shares since Jan (based on aft-mkt), we are taking the opportunity to take up our rating on shares of MRVL from Hold to Buy,” analyst Gary Mobley wrote.
