(Alliance News) - UK retail investment website interactive investor on Tuesday said trading activity in January was dominated by travel stocks, while US video game retailer GameStop Inc shot up to become one of the most traded names on ii's trading platform.
interactive investor said January proved to be an "unprecedented month", when "keyboard warriors" on social media platforms took on the established Wall Street order. This has also been partially reflected in the top ten January purchases among ii's customers, although the major theme was airline stocks and popular UK shares, it added.
UK-listed blockchain technology company Argo Blockchain PLC was the most popular name in January on the ii website, ahead of Lloyds Banking Group PLC in second spot and Rolls Royce Holdings PLC in third.
Notably, Gamestop was "catapulted into the most bought table" to rank seventh as the US-based video game retailer's stock shot higher following a campaign by US retail investors mobilised on Reddit group WallStreetBets.
The interest resulted in a record-breaking month for international trades on ii, which says it is the second largest direct-to-consumer investment platform in the UK. The largest is FTSE 100 constituent Hargreaves Lansdown PLC.
Huge numbers of amateur traders communicating via Reddit have jolted world markets in recent weeks, joining together to push up the prices of a number of troubled companies including GameStop and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc that fund managers had been betting would fall in value.
"Whilst the average trade value of Gamestop in January was the lowest amongst the top 10 most traded stocks, with an average trade (buy) amounting to GBP4,480 (compared, for example, to an average buy trade value of GBP8,081 for Lloyds), these are not small numbers. This army of keyboard warriors and those who follow them could end up getting hit by their own shrapnel and we are urging extreme caution," said interactive investor Head of Markets Richard Hunter.
"Overall, the major theme, however, was travel and, in particular, airline and airline-related stocks, as four made the top ten in the form of International Consolidated Airlines, Rolls-Royce, TUI and easyJet, as investors tried to get ahead of a potential return to some kind of normality later in the year."
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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International Airlines (IAG)
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.)
easyJet (EZJ)
TUI AG (TUI)
Rolls-Royce (RR.)
Argo Blockchai. (ARB)