August 11, 2011

Wall Street Journal

Buy, Sell, Fret:  Average Investors Swing Into Action

In a throwback to the day-trading era, the market’s stomach-churning gyrations are creating a new class of stock obsessives hanging on every dip and rebound. Average investors are scrambling to stay ahead of the massive swings – often via mobile devices like iPads and smart-phones, leading to sharp spikes in trading volumes at many brokerages.


Since Aug. 4, the Dow has experienced historic intraday swings, averaging 585 points a day. That volatility is spurring investors to action.


The high-stakes drama is also making once-calm investors jittery. Richard Chaifetz, chief executive of Chicago-based ComPsych Corp., which provides employee assistance programs for 13,000 companies, says his firm has seen a 15 percent increase in calls from stressed out employees who are watching the stock markets from their desks.