Iran War Broke Buy The Dip: Retail Investors Show "Persistent Signs Of Weakness"

Something strange happened after the Iran war broke out: for the first time in over a year, retail investors aren't jumping in to buy the dip.

Unlike Liberation Day, when the brief but brutal S&P drawdown saw a record burst of dip-buying by the retail community, according to the latest JPMorgan Retail Radar note, retail investors are showing "persistent signs of weakness" following the start of the Iran conflict with weekly purchases decelerating by ~30% after defying seasonal patterns and making February their 3rd largest month on record. Perhaps it is the lack of a liquidation selling flush - the kind we saw in April 2025 when the S&P tumbled into a correction in just days - that is keeping everyone on their toes.