Retail investors fuel record buying in US software ETF as AI trade broadens

June 2, 2026 10:24 AM EDT

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

June 2 (Reuters) - The largest ‌exchange-traded fund (ETF) ​tracking ​U.S. software stocks clocked the biggest single-day buy-in by retail investors on record on Monday, data from ‌Vanda Research showed.

Software stocks have largely recovered their losses ⁠from earlier this year when fears of industry-wide disruptions due to the ‌rise of AI gripped ‌the sector, though volatility still persists.

• Mom-and-pop traders bought stock worth a net $46 million in the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ​Sector ETF on Monday, surpassing the previous single-day record by roughly 40%, as per Vanda.

• The ETF's previous record ⁠buying day was in early February, when retail traders purchased a net $32.8 million.

• "The AI/semi ​trade is showing early signs of broadening out from a flows perspective. Software is emerging as one ​of the initial beneficiaries," Vanda ‌Research said in a note.

• ServiceNow, International Business Machines, Adobe, Atlassian, Salesforce and Workday rallied between ⁠7.5% and 9.6% in the last session.

• The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF jumped 5.9%, touching its highest level in about five ⁠months.

• Investor worries around AI disruption have been building since Anthropic in ​February launched new tools that automated tasks across domains, including marketing and data analytics, raising concerns such products could pressure traditional software businesses.

• The ‌recent rally, however, lost some steam on Tuesday as the software ETF dipped 3.1%. Intuit ‌and Workday were also among the stocks at the bottom of ⁠the S&P 500 in early ‌trading.

• Including Tuesday's losses, ​the software ETF was down more than 1% year-to-date.

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan ‌Ananda)



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