Internet stocks popular with direct investors

Despite recent market moves to the contrary, many direct investors see Internet stocks as most likely to outperform other investments, according to a recent survey.

Despite recent market moves to the contrary, many direct investors see Internet stocks as most likely to outperform other investments, according to a recent survey.

HSBC InvestDirect recently released the findings of the first of a series of quarterly surveys of its client base, which found that apart from Internet stocks, industrial and telecommunications were also seen as potential honey pots for investors in the near future.

In contrast to many voices in the financial services industry, the survey found most investors in HSBC InvestDirect were experienced in-vestors. More than 75 per cent of respondents had been involved in share trading for more than a year. More than 80 per cent of HSBC In-vestDirect's clients said they were share trading for the medium to long term, while almost all said they would either maintain or in-crease their investment levels this year.

When it came to predicting how the Australian equities market would fare in coming months, the responses were divided. Around half said the market would either stabilise or decrease in value and one in five said they expected volatility to be the order of the day.