- Tiger Brokers says Aussie investors are increasingly look for exposure to tech-heavy NASDAQ stock exchange
- New York based NASDAQ a global hub for software and hardware frontrunners shaping artificial intelligence (AI)
- In May, Nvidia added almost US$200bn to its market cap in a single after-hours session.
Special Report: The NASDAQ is renowned for hosting the world’s premier tech stocks like Netflix, Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia, but Tiger Brokers says there are plenty of others proving popular with Aussie investors.
The tech-focused NASDAQ is one of the world’s largest and most well-known stock exchanges.
It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume and ranked second by market cap of shares traded behind the New York Stock Exchange. No wonder Aussie investors want a piece.
Tiger Brokers is a global brokerage platform that gives Australian investors simple access to ASX and US stocks.
The trading group’s Australian division is offering US$50 worth of NASDAQ blue chip tech shares to new sign ups.
It is also offering new clients one brokerage free trade per month for 12 months for ASX or US stocks.
Other features include US stock options and ability to allow investors to participate in US pre and post market execution, gives investors the extended flexibility and to trade outside US market hours.
The company is working hard to maintain its competitiveness and affordability with brokerage fees starting from US$2 for US equities.
Tiger Brokers Australia vice president Jack Liang says the NASDAQ includes well-known global companies that investors might recognise, such as Pepsi, Costco, Adobe, Netflix, Honeywell, Booking, PayPal, and Airbnb.
Leading US semiconductor firms such as Nvidia, AMD, Intel, ASML, Qualcomm, Broadcom, NXP, Applied Materials, and GlobalFoundries are also listed on the NASDAQ.
“This positions NASDAQ as a pivotal hub, uniting the principal software and hardware frontrunners shaping the future of artificial intelligence (AI),” he says.
AI stocks boost NASDAQ in 2023
Liang says the rapid rise of AI along with strong performance of the likes of Nvidia, which has positioned its A100 and H100 processing chips as integral in advancement of the megatrend, has helped the NASDAQ deliver impressive gains in CY23.
In May, Nvidia added almost US$200bn to its market cap in a single after-hours session upon release of its Q1 FY24 results.
With Australian investors increasingly drawn to NASDAQ’s technology sectors, Liang says its worth noting the particular attention tech stocks receive on trading platforms.
He says Tiger Trade, a hub for tech stock enthusiasts, often sees companies like Nvidia topping its weekly most- searched rankings.
“It added more to its market capitalisation in a single after-hours trading session than the market capitalisations combined of three of Australia’s big four banks,” Global X investment analyst David Tuckwell said at the time.
The Nvidia share price is up ~214% YTD, while the NASDAQ despite inflation pressures and rising interest rates in both the US and many countries globally has also not performed too shabbily.
“Microsoft launched the AI-driven Copilot functions into Windows and Office 365 from the start of November with analysts buy recommendations on the rise,” Liang says.
“Microsoft is forecast by analysts to sustain double-digit expansion over the next couple of quarters with its cloud services growth seen outpacing those of rivals Amazon and Alphabet.
“From the low point at the beginning of the year to its peak in July, the NASDAQ is continuing to perform strongly.”
Growing popularity of Aussies trading on NASDAQ
Listed itself on the NASDAQ under the ticker code TIGR, Liang says Tiger Brokers in the US is a US clearing broker, which means it is regulated by one of the highest compliance standards in the world.
He says the Australian division offers a full range of in-12 investment options to investors interested in gaining exposure to the NASDAQ.
“This could include direct stock trading, ETFs that track NASDAQ indices, and options related to NASDAQ-listed companies,” Liang says.
He says while there’s not easily accessible and public information that provides an exact count of the number of Australians trading stocks and ETFs on the NASDAQ, through Google Trends, it can be observed that Australians are increasingly interested in the field of AI.
“As mentioned earlier, NASDAQ serves as a critical hub for the AI sector,” Liang says.
“Therefore, it can be inferred that the investment interest of Australian investors in NASDAQ is gradually increasing.”
NASDAQ more than just AI
The new Global X US 100 ETF (ASX:N100) tracks the performance of the largest 100 companies listed on the NASDAQ exchange, excluding financials and REITs, for a 0.24% management fee, the lowest cost for an ETF of its kind.
The ETF provider also has the Global X FANG+ ETF (ASX: FANG). Global X ETF’s head of distribution Kanish Chugh says the NASDAQ is about modern-day infrastructure as much as technology.
“Whilst the current megatrend focus is AI, companies within the top 100 or the big tech companies in FAANG+ are focused on more than one thematic,” he says.
Chugh says many of the NASDAQ-listed companies are all working together on the megatrends shaping our modern day lives now and into the future.
“If you want to watch Netflix for example you would need a streaming device like an Apple MacBook which uses chips to operate from Nasdaq-listed AMD.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Tiger Brokers, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.