As all the excitement of reporting season fades, volumes have fallen slightly on nabtrade, but remain very high relative to previous years.

On Thursday, a large number of top 20 stocks going ex-dividend dragged the index lower. CSL fell 4.5% despite going ex a dividend of close to 1%, resulting in large net buys from investors, although it was mixed earlier in the week. Fortescue (FMG) was also a popular buy, with mixed trading throughout the week on huge volumes. Over 50% of trades in this stock were over $100,000, making it a high conviction play. In the mining sector, BHP (BHP) and Rio (RIO) experienced profit taking from investors who’ve benefitted from the recent rally in iron ore prices.

Zip Co (Z1P) remains nabtrade’s most popular trading stock, with a slight bias to the buys on very high numbers of trades. Afterpay (APT) crept back into the top 10 with investors keen to pick up the stock – or add to their holdings - below $125. Also in the perennially popular buy now, pay later space, IOU Pay (IOU) has attracted a large number of small buys through the week.

In financials, nab (NAB) and ANZ (ANZ) were strongly traded, with a sell bias on Thursday. The shift back into banks has continued as the economy performs better than expected and house price increases accelerate. Retail investors are also anticipating a return of strong dividends after cuts and deferrals in 2020.

Outside the top 10, Costa Group (CGC) and BPH Energy (BPH), despite having relatively few holders, were large sells. More broadly, the shift to electric vehicles and acceleration of battery technology are attracting investors to Lynas (LYC), Piedmont Lithium (PLL) and more recently, Hawkstone Mining (HWK). On international markets, Tesla (TSLA) remains the most bought stock, with over 90% buys throughout the week. Chinese electric vehicle competitor Nio (NIO) also remains a strong buy despite an earnings result that disappointed investors. Despite its recent falls, many investors who have done well from Air BnB’s (ABNB) were taking profits, while others loaded up on Apple (APPL), albeit on small trade sizes. Xiaomi (1810.HK) and Tencent (0700.HK) were strong buys, with an average trade size for the former of over $AUD50,000.