This month’s market plunge has done little to curb the retail appetite for stocks — especially for tech. Small investors are buying the dip in old favorites such as Nvidia and Tesla , as well as scooping up the dip in Chipotle, according to a Wednesday note from JPMorgan. Retail traders have snapped up roughly $1.8 billion in individual stock names, with $1.3 billion of that spending in just four names — Tesla, Nvidia, Microsoft and Palantir . This week, Nvidia has surged more than 12%, while Tesla is slightly higher by less than 1%. NVDA 5D mountain Nvidia They also bought the dip in Chipotle , and sold the rally in Starbucks , having identified the surprise leadership change as an opportunity. On Tuesday, Starbucks said it’s replacing CEO Laxman Narasimhan with Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol. Starbucks shares surged 24.5% in its best day ever, while Chipotle shares dropped more than 10%. Elsewhere, they’re also selling shares in Alphabet after a federal judge last week ruled the internet giant violated antitrust laws , illegally holding a monopoly search and text advertising. The retail appetite for equities is remarkable given this month’s volatility. Even with the rise in growth fears, and the unwind of the yen carry trade, retail net buying has remained near the highest levels of the past year, at a pace of $1.4 billion per day, according to Vanda Research. “As equities dipped in August, retail purchases boomed, far exceeding even our most bullish expectations,” wrote Marco Iachini, senior vice president of research at Vanda Research. The Wall Street firm noted one interesting behavioral split in the recent data. Younger traders have sought to buy the drop in tech, while older and wealthier investors have sought to trim their positions.
