Retail investors continue to “buy the dip”: technology and memory chips remain the main flow themes

Overview

This report tracks U.S. retail trading activity for the week ending July 1, 2026. The core conclusion is that retail fund flows remain resilient, with total inflows reaching $8.1B, above the 12-month average of $6.7B, including $4.6B into ETFs and $3.5B into single stocks. Retail investors continued to adopt a “buy the dip” strategy, focusing on technology, memory chips, AI data centers, and certain communication services stocks.

Core views

The report believes retail risk appetite has not cooled meaningfully, especially at the single-stock level. Technology and memory chips remain the main buying directions, with MU, SNDK, NVDA, SPCX, and MSFT as the top five retail net-buy stocks last week. Meanwhile, ETF activity was relatively moderate, with leveraged semiconductor ETF SOXL still seeing outflows, though inflows into SOXX, SMH, QQQ, and QQQM partly offset that. In the communication services sector, declines in T, VZ, and TMUS triggered by news about Starlink-branded mobile services led to buy-the-dip activity in T and VZ.

Analysis framework

The report uses J.P. Morgan's retail trading activity monitoring framework, breaking down fund flows by stocks, ETFs, themes, sectors, options, and social media attention, and combining z-scores, percentiles, short interest, and options delta/gamma activity to identify unusual crowding and potential event risks.

Methodology notes

• Fund flow monitoringRetail stock and ETF flow split

  Retail buying and selling are divided into single stocks, ETFs, sectors, and themes, comparing this week's inflows with historical averages.

  Total retail inflows this week were $8.1B, including +$4.6B into ETFs and +$3.5B into single stocks, used to judge that retail preference remains tilted toward risk assets.

• Abnormality measurementz-score and percentile

  z-scores and percentiles are used to measure how unusual fund flows are relative to historical distributions.

  The report notes that overall retail fund flows were at the 75.4th percentile, single-stock inflows at the 94.8th percentile, and some stocks such as MU, SNDK, T, ON, and SYNA also showed unusual buying or selling intensity via z-scores.

• Theme attributionTheme and sector fund flow aggregation

  Retail single-stock activity is aggregated by themes such as technology, memory chips, AI data centers, electrification, and communication services.

  The report shows the technology sector received about +$2.3B of inflows, communication services received +$546M, and retail investors continued buying themes related to AI data centers, electrification, and AI software/products/monetization.

• Risk screeningSocial media attention and high short interest screening

  Screens for stocks that simultaneously have high social media mentions, high retail buying, and high hedge fund shorting.

  The report uses this framework to warn that stocks such as QXO, VELO, and ARES may face short squeezes or retail loss risks due to opposing retail and short positioning.

• Derivatives monitoringRetail options delta and gamma activity

  Retail leveraged risk appetite is observed through options volume, delta buying/selling, and gamma buying/selling.

  The report notes that retail options participation remains elevated, with active names including TSLA, MU, NVDA, AMZN, SNDK, AMD, META, SPCX, MSFT, and AAPL.

Asset mapping & comparison

Structured mapping from thesis to named assets (strengths, weaknesses, peers, risks).

• Technology and memory chips (MU, SNDK, NVDA, MSFT, AMD, etc.)

  Core buying theme

  Strengths

  Single-stock inflows were strong, semiconductor inflows rose to the highest level in more than a year, and technology hardware demand was the second strongest in more than two years.

  Weaknesses

  AI bubble concerns have resurfaced, and some gains were given back in subsequent trading days.

  Comparison

  MU and SNDK were the largest retail-buy names this week, clearly ahead of other single stocks.

  Risks

  Theme crowding, profit-taking, overheated AI expectations, and semiconductor cycle volatility may amplify pullbacks.

• ETFs and fixed income ETFs

  Retail investors still posted net buying, but activity was milder than in single stocks

  Strengths

  ETFs saw combined inflows of +$4.6B, fixed income ETF inflows rebounded to about one month ago levels, and investment-grade corporate bond and broad bond products attracted buying.

  Weaknesses

  ETF activity was only at the 17.5th percentile, and leveraged semiconductor ETF SOXL continued to see outflows.

  Comparison

  Outflows from SOXL were partly offset by inflows into SOXX, SMH, QQQ, and QQQM.

  Risks

  If risk appetite cools, broad-market and thematic ETFs may face synchronized outflows.

• Communication services (VZ, T, TMUS)

  Event-driven buy-the-dip trading

  Strengths

  After declines, VZ and T each attracted about $25M and $33M of retail buying respectively, with T showing a relatively high z-score.

  Weaknesses

  News about Starlink-branded retail mobile services caused related telecom stocks to fall 8%-10%.

  Comparison

  VZ and T attracted buying, while TMUS saw about $8M of retail net selling.

  Risks

  Potentially intensified competition, pricing pressure, and market share concerns may continue to weigh on valuations.

• Stocks with high social media attention and high short interest (QXO, VELO, ARES, etc.)

  Meme/short squeeze risk monitoring

  Strengths

  QXO and VELO attracted retail buying, while social media or event catalysts increased attention.

  Weaknesses

  Some names had high short interest, with VELO short interest at about 34% of float and QXO at about 21%.

  Comparison

  The report compares retail buying with hedge fund shorting to identify positioning conflicts.

  Risks

  These stocks may experience short squeezes, but they may also cause retail losses when sentiment reverses.

• Retail options trading

  Indicator of leveraged risk appetite

  Strengths

  Retail options participation remained elevated, and active names were consistent with popular stock themes.

  Weaknesses

  Options trading amplifies directional risk, and excessive activity may represent speculative crowding.

  Comparison

  The most active options names included TSLA, MU, NVDA, AMZN, SNDK, AMD, META, SPCX, MSFT, and AAPL.

  Risks

  Delta/gamma crowding may amplify short-term price volatility.

Key data

• Total retail inflows this week$8.1BAbove the 12-month weekly average of $6.7B.
• ETF and single-stock inflowsETF +$4.6B; single stocks +$3.5BRetail investors still preferred ETFs overall, but the intensity of single-stock inflows was at the 94.8th percentile.
• Retail activity percentileOverall 75.4th percentile; single stocks 94.8th percentile; ETFs 17.5th percentileSingle-stock buying was significantly stronger than ETF activity.
• Top five retail net-buy stocksMU +$897M; SNDK +$705M; NVDA +$492M; SPCX +$460M; MSFT +$292MBuying was concentrated in memory chips, AI, and technology-related names.
• Sector fund flowsTechnology +$2.3B; Communication services +$546M; Industrials +$120M; Healthcare +$114M; Financials -$269M; Consumer discretionary -$135MTechnology and communication services were the main inflow sectors, while financials and consumer discretionary were net-sold sectors.
• Mag7 activityBought NVDA, MSFT, GOOGL/GOOG, AAPL; sold AMZN, META, TSLANVDA inflows were +$492M, MSFT inflows were +$292M, and TSLA outflows were -$130M.
• Non-retail futures activityAbout -$11.3BFutures traders were net sellers last week, mainly in ES, NQ, and RTY.

Impact & implications

Fund flows show that retail investors are still willing to add positions during volatility and thematic pullbacks, especially concentrated in AI, memory chips, and large-cap technology chains. This may support short-term trading volume and price momentum in related popular stocks, but it also implies rising risks of crowded trades, event-driven pullbacks, and options-leverage volatility.

Risks

• AI and memory chip theme trades are overly crowded; if earnings or order expectations cool, popular stocks may pull back quickly.
• Competition concerns related to Starlink mobile services may continue to affect traditional telecom stocks.
• Stocks combining high social media attention with high short interest may experience short squeezes, but may also cause losses for retail investors chasing prices higher.
• Retail options participation remains elevated, and leveraged trading may amplify single-day volatility.
• ETF activity is relatively moderate; if single-stock momentum cools, overall retail inflows may lack broad support.

What to watch

• Watch whether follow-on retail inflows continue in popular technology/memory chip names such as MU, SNDK, NVDA, and MSFT.
• Pay attention to fund rotation among semiconductor and technology ETFs including SOXL, SOXX, SMH, QQQ, and QQQM.
• Track fund flows and share price recovery in T, VZ, and TMUS after Starlink-related competitive news.
• Monitor social media attention, retail buying, and short-interest changes in high-short-interest stocks such as QXO, VELO, and ARES.
• Watch whether retail options delta and gamma buying/selling continue to concentrate in high-volatility names such as TSLA, MU, NVDA, SNDK, AMD, and META.