U.S. Investors Are Doing Something They've Never Done Before, and It Could Lead to a Major Meltdown in the Markets
Investors are looking to extend their gains, but taking on more risk.
Overview
The stock market is approaching the four-year mark of the current bull run, and investors are just as confident as ever that it will continue into its fifth year. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC), and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) are trading near all-time highs as investors remain resilient in the face of multiple headwinds since the bull market started 45 months ago. It seems like every price pullback has been met with investor willingness to buy the dip.
That's pushed U.S. investors to do something they've never done before. Margin debt -- when investors borrow from stock brokers and use their shares as collateral -- reached a record $1.5 trillion in June, up 49% year over year. Add to that the growing popularity of leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and out-of-the-money options, and investors' risk appetite may be higher than ever. It's all fine as long as there's capital to absorb any pullbacks in stock prices. But as margin balances creep higher, the risk of a market meltdown climbs as well.
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Originally published at www.fool.com.