Experienced Investor
REVEALED: October’s top trades
Darren Hepworth, Director of Global Trading at TD Direct Investing takes a look back at October 2014.
October was another busy month in the markets with Apple, Tesco and Alibaba at the forefront of investors’ minds. For the second month in a row, Apple was the most bought and sold international stock by TD investors, benefitting from the huge consumer media exposure around their recent product launches and exceptional Q4 financial results.
Alibaba shares have gone from strength to strength since the company’s record-breaking IPO in September, and traders have remained keen to take advantage of the opportunities this stock represents. As a result, Alibaba stayed in TD’s Top 3 International Buys this month ahead of the likes of Facebook, Google and Amazon.
Investors also saw a buying opportunity in Tesco’s continuous challenges. Tesco’s October results showed a 92 per cent fall in profits and a £263 million accounting black hole, but despite these well-publicised troubles Tesco was, this month again, by far the most popular UK stock for TD traders.
Meanwhile, October’s Good Money Week brought green and responsible stocks to the limelight. According to new research by TD Direct Investing, ethical stocks are becoming increasingly popular amongst British investors. The number of trades made by our customers in ethical funds has increased by 84 per cent in the last year, with 94 per cent of TD’s ethical funds increasing in value in the same period.
The research also found that 64 per cent of British investors are planning to invest in ethical funds in the next few years. This growing trend may reshape investors’ portfolio over the next few years, provided more information is available to investors to help them make informed decisions.
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Alibaba – During its second month of trading investors continued to have confidence that there is further growth in the Chinese e-commerce sector, and its continuing prominence in TD’s monthly top 10 shows that confidence is likely to continue.
Jabil Circuit – In the month that it fell out of the S&P 500, electronics firm Jabil Circuit became the second most bought international stock. TD customers are evidently bullish that it can bounce back from this setback.
Solo Oil – The oil and gas operation fell out of our top 10 buys. Investors’ hopes of successful exploration, which had made the stock one of our most popular in September, continue to be unfulfilled. However, Solo Oil also left our top 10 sales list signifying that most investors are holding out for profitable discoveries to come.
Top UK TD client buys and sells for October 2014
| Top Ten UK Buys | Top 10 UK Sells | ||
| Company | Company | ||
| 1 | TESCO | 1 | LLOYDS BANKING GROUP |
| 2 | LLOYDS BANKING GROUP | 2 | BARCLAYS PLC |
| 3 | GLAXOSMITHKLINE | 3 | TESCO |
| 4 | GULF KEYSTONE PETROLEUM | 4 | ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC |
| 5 | BARCLAYS PLC | 5 | QUINDELL PLC |
| 6 | LENI GAS & OIL PLC | 6 | GULF KEYSTONE PETROLEUM |
| 7 | BP | 7 | LENI GAS & OIL PLC |
| 8 | QUINDELL PLC | 8 | VODAFONE GROUP |
| 9 | ROLLS ROYCE HOLDINGS | 9 | RARE EARTH MINERAL |
| 10 | VODAFONE GROUP | 10 | TAYLOR WIMPEY |
Top International TD client Buys and Sells for October 2014
| Top 10 International Buys | Top 10 International Sells | ||
| Company | Company | ||
| 1 | APPLE INC | 1 | APPLE INC |
| 2 | JABIL CIRCUIT INC | 2 | JABIL CIRCUIT INC |
| 3 | ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD | 3 | FACEBOOK INC |
| 4 | GILEAD SCIENCES INC | 4 | JINKOSOLAR HOLDING CO LTD |
| 5 | FACEBOOK INC | 5 | TESLA MOTORS INC |
| 6 | CREDIT SUISSE NASSAU | 6 | GILEAD SCIENCES INC |
| 7 | JINKOSOLAR HOLDING CO LTD | 7 | ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD |
| 8 | TESLA MOTORS INC | 8 | PROSHARES TRUST |
| 9 | GOOGLE INC | 9 | YAHOO INC |
| 10 | PROSHARES TRUST | 10 | TWITTER INC |