Retail Investors Sell 265 Million Dollars in Stocks

Individual investors sharply reduced their exposure to US stocks on Thursday, November 5, 2026, as a major technology sector selloff rattled financial markets. Retail traders recorded their largest single-day net withdrawal from individual stocks since the COVID-19 market crash in March 2020, according to Vanda Research.

Vanda Research reported that retail investors sold a net 265 million dollars in individual US stocks during Thursday's session. The outflow represented the biggest daily net selling since March 17, 2020, when individual investors withdrew 502 million dollars from the market.

Separate figures published by CNBC showed that net selling had reached 338 million dollars with less than an hour remaining before the closing bell. Vanda's figures subsequently reflected a reduction in selling as some individual investors returned toward the end of the session.

The selling coincided with a broad decline in technology shares, particularly artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.2%, putting the technology-heavy index on track to enter correction territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also plunged 1,800 points, according to CNBC. The losses effectively erased gains from Wednesday's post-election market rally.

Vanda Research global macro strategist Viraj Patel described the scale of the withdrawals as an unusually severe retreat by individual investors.

"This is what we would call a total capitulation by retail investors," said Viraj Patel, global macro strategist at Vanda Research.

Patel said the selling reflected a broader deterioration in demand for equities. Institutional investors were also stepping back, while systematic and leveraged investment strategies contributed to additional selling pressure.

Historically, retail investors have often purchased individual stocks during market declines, taking advantage of lower share prices. However, Thursday's trading activity showed a significant departure from that pattern.

Vanda Research noted that the usual demand from individual investors had largely disappeared from individual stocks during the selloff.

"On a typical sell-off, retail buy the dip," the research firm said in a note. "Today, that bid has effectively disappeared from individual names."

Despite the retreat from individual equities, some retail investors continued purchasing leveraged exchange-traded funds linked to major technology and semiconductor indexes.

Among the instruments attracting buying activity were ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) and Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (SOXL). These products provide leveraged exposure to movements in the Nasdaq-100 and semiconductor stocks, respectively.

Vanda Research also characterized the market conditions as an unusual combination of weak investor demand and selling pressure from investment strategies.

"This looks like a rare buyers' strike colliding with forced selling," the firm said in its research note.

Although late-session purchases reduced the overall net outflow from its earlier level, individual investors remained net sellers of US stocks, marking the most significant daily withdrawal since the early days of the COVID-19 market crisis.