TD Ameritrade's Investor Movement Index Indicates April Witnessed Net Buyers

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.

, released its Investor Movement Index reading for April. According to its Investor Movement Index, or the IMXSM, the reading improved to 4.41 in April from 4.33 in March. The brokerage believes that the trend direction was positive with trend length being one-month. TD Ameritrade said that net buying helped to increase the IMX to 4.41 in April. The overall market volatility seemed to have stabilized in April following a drop from relative highs earlier in the year. The company said that the exposure to the equity markets within its client accounts increased slightly, as the decline in overall market volatility fueled to make the relative volatility of some widely held positions rise modestly. The company added that the net buying also helped to increase the IMX. The company's Chief Market Strategist, Kinahan, said that "Clients were net buyers as volatility steadied a bit in April. This past month was also the kick-off of corporate earnings season so we saw many clients make investment decisions based on those reports." TD Ameritrade said that while market volatility stabilized in April, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average witnessed gains of approximately 1.5%, whereas the Russell 2000 advanced over 4% and the NASDAQ Composite was essentially flat. The company pointed out that the crude oil prices continued their rally in April, following a brief dip to begin the month, closing the period above $45 per barrel. Also, the Central Bank met again in April and announced that there would be no change to their key rate, citing lack of progress towards their goal of 2% inflation. The Fed reiterated the economic outlook they gave in March and maintained that any future rate increases would be based on economic data. On Monday, the stock traded 0.56% higher on Monday.