{"id":935284,"date":"2026-02-09T12:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T17:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/schwab-trading-activity-index-stax-score-sees-highest-reading-since-february-2025\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T12:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T17:33:06","slug":"schwab-trading-activity-index-stax-score-sees-highest-reading-since-february-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/schwab-trading-activity-index-stax-score-sees-highest-reading-since-february-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Schwab Trading Activity Index\u2122: STAX Score Sees Highest Reading Since February 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Schwab Trading Activity Index\u2122: STAX Score Sees Highest Reading Since February 2025<\/b><\/p>\n

Schwab clients were net buyers of equities in January, with a net buying surge in the Information Technology sector<\/i><\/p>\n

WESTLAKE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)–
\nThe Schwab Trading Activity Index\u2122 (STAX) increased to 49.96 in January, up from its score of 48.48 in December. The only index of its kind, the STAX is a proprietary, behavior-based index that analyzes retail investor stock positions and trading activity from Schwab\u2019s millions of client accounts to illuminate what investors were actually doing and how they were positioned in the markets each month.<\/p>\n

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20260209219779\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\u201cAfter a one-month backtrack in December, Schwab clients returned as net buyers of stocks in January, even as the S&P 500\u00ae index (SPX) barely climbed,\u201d said Joe Mazzola, Head Trading and Derivatives Strategist at Charles Schwab. \u201cThe STAX was strongest toward the end of January after earnings season began, and we saw a good amount of dip buying after earnings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nSTAX climbed 3.05% in January, the biggest percentage gain since October 2025, and well above the 0.13% gain for the SPX during the January STAX period. Every week of January saw STAX gain, and most of the net-buying surge came in the information technology sector. STAX has now outgained the S&P 500 index in five of the last six months.<\/p>\n

\nFrom an age perspective, the most aggressively positioned investors tracked by Schwab during the January STAX period were once again members of Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980. Among the least was Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012. This gap widened from December.<\/p>\n

\n“Generation X and Baby Boomers continue to buy the dips, but it’s not the same with Generation Z,” Mazzola said. “It could be that they’re saving for new homes or worrying about the impact of AI on their jobs, but they’re not as confident buying. Millennials are in the middle of the pack.”<\/p>\n

\nChecking sectors, net buying was by far the heaviest in Information Technology during January, followed by Financials, Utilities, Health Care, and Materials. Five of 11 S&P 500 sectors saw net-inflows, with Consumer Staples and Industrials seeing the highest net-outflows among those tracked by STAX.<\/p>\n

\nThough sectors with outflows outnumbered those with inflows, Information Technology inflows were so substantial that they pushed STAX higher overall.<\/p>\n

\nIn January, the S&P 500 Index set an all-time high late in the month after trading briefly above 7,000 intraday for the first time. The January STAX period featured a rate pause by the Federal Reserve, its first after three cuts to end 2025. Earnings season got off to a firm start with blended year-over-year earnings growth at around 11% by the end of January. As earnings piled up, STAX gains accelerated, rising 4.3% during the final week of the month after a 3% gain the week before.<\/p>\n

\nPopular names bought by Schwab clients during the period included:<\/p>\n