The Nikkei: a market abducted by retail Blame Bernanke, China or the BoJ but this Nikkei rout has apparently been led by the little guys. From the FT: Over the past few weeks, individual investors" share of trading had risen steadily, to a record 35 per cent last week. Brokers say their share was almost certainly higher over the past few days, judging by huge volumes in popular stocks such as Fast Retailing, owner of Uniqlo, and Mitsubishi Motors The scale of the fall [says says Stefan Worrall, director of equity sales at Credit Suisse in Tokyo], "just shows the extent to which this market has become abducted by retail." First the hedgies, now the little guys: From SocGen: Hedge Fund investors have backed the Nikkei since it began rallying in November 2012. Although net long Nikkei positions are already beyond their peak (chart on the left below), Hedge Funds still represent nearly one-third (32%) of total open interest, hence their impact remains relatively strong. But while Hedge Fund's net positions are still significant, momentum has begun to falter. Indeed, in the three weeks since 23 April, Nikkei positions have stopped strengthening... Related links: Kyle Bass bets on full-blown Japan crisis - FT What goes up must come down, Japan version - FT Long Short A Japanese frenzy? FT Alphaville