Most traded stocks by country: March 2021

In March, we surpassed the one-year mark of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the Covid-19 outbreak a global pandemic. In the investing world, we saw stock markets enter into bear markets, then rally in the fastest recovery ever, oil prices plunge into negative territory for the first time, central banks slash interest rates, retail investors flood the market, the rise of ‘meme stocks’ and so much more.

March also marked the end of the first quarter of the year and a strong month for European and American equities. The EURO STOXX 50 ended March up by 7.78%. The S&P 500 reached a new intraday high on the 31st of March and ended the month up by 4.24%.

In this article, we discuss the most popular stock among our investors last month and highlight a company that made an appearance on our map for the first time.

Another GameStop takeover

GameStop was the predominant stock on our map for the third month in a row. It was the winner out of the stocks on the map, with prices increasing by 86.57%. It has been a roller-coaster year for the gaming retailer in terms of volatility. While GameStop prices are down from a record high in January, they ended the first quarter up by 907.54%.

GameStop released its fourth-quarter earnings on the 23rd of March. Its sales and profits were lower than expected, resulting in shares dropping by 33.79% the following day. In its earnings release, GameStop announced its focus on transforming its brick-and-mortar business model towards e-commerce over the long-term. In this effort, the company said it is pursuing senior talent to add to its team, who have experience in e-commerce and technology. In line with this effort, GameStop hired three new executives at the end of the month, all former Amazon executives.

Newcomer on the map

Piraeus Financial Holdings, the parent company of Piraeus Bank, was the most traded stock by our Greek investors and made its debut on our map. It is an Athens-based, small-cap company and is one of Greece’s “big four” banks.

The company released its earnings for the full fiscal year of 2020 on the 16th of March. The company reported going from a net profit from continued operations in 2019 of €270 million to a net loss in 2020 of €652 million. Share prices steeply dropped the following day and ended March down by 42.86%.

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The information in this article is not written for advisory purposes, nor does it intend to recommend any investments. Please be aware that facts may have changed since the article was originally written. Investing involves risks. You can lose (a part of) your deposit. We advise you to only invest in financial products that match your knowledge and experience.

Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, GameStop, Barron’s, Piraeus Financial Holdings, S&P Global