STAX Score Is Up for Fifth Consecutive Month in October

The Schwab Trading Activity Index (STAX) increased to 48.12 in October, up from its score of 46.12 in September. The only index of its kind, the STAX is a proprietary, behavior-based index that analyzes retail investor stock positions and trading activity from Schwab’s millions of client accounts to illuminate what investors were actually doing and how they were positioned in the markets each month.

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The reading for the five-week period ending October 31, 2025, ranks “moderate low” compared to historic averages.

“We continue to see signs of cautious optimism when it comes to our clients’ trading behavior,” said Joe Mazzola, Head Trading and Derivatives Strategist at Charles Schwab. “Stocks are expensive right now, but the markets keep going up, so retail investors appear to be taking advantage of dip-buying opportunities where they can. Even with limited economic data due to the ongoing government shutdown, clients continued to increase exposure as the market kept soaring, despite concerns about how top-heavy it may be becoming.”

The STAX climbed in just two of the five weeks tracked in October, starting and finishing the period strong but falling in the weeks between. Magnificent Seven earnings, a Federal Reserve rate cut, and excitement over progress on U.S./China trade relations appeared to bring buyers back in the final week of the month. At the sector level, the top three net-buys in October were communication services, financials, and industrials. The three that saw the most net-sells from Schwab clients were information technology, consumer discretionary, and health care.

The October STAX revealed a divergence in sentiment between generations of investors. Based on market exposure, the most bullishly positioned investor group appeared to be Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980, while the least aggressive group belonged to Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012.

Volatility was a bigger factor in October than in September. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) tested 29 at mid-month, up from recent lows of around 15, on a brief scare about possible credit issues involving bank loans. That closely followed a wave of selling that took the S&P 500 index (SPX) down nearly 3% in a single session on October 10—the worst drop for the index since April—following a new round of threats by the U.S. and China on trade. By the end of the month, the credit worries had diminished, as had China trade worries following a meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi.