Retail Rush at the Top? What the ASX’s Hot-Stock Frenzy Means

Retail participation on the ASX jumped through the September quarter as the index broke above 9000, with online retail investors accounting for ~6% of volumes in July-August before easing to ~5.2% in September. The traded value hit about $22bn last month versus a $14.4bn long-term average. Flows concentrated in lithium (PLS, Mineral Resources), uranium (Boss), defence tech (DroneShield), and buy-now-pay-later (Zip); retail also bid smaller names such as Cobram Estate and Botanix while selling Brainchip, Weebit Nano and Regal Partners. This surge sits alongside real-world queues for physical gold in Sydney as. . .