The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that retail inflows into U.S. stocks are set to hit a record in 2025, as individual investors become a major force behind a rally that is likely to extend into the next year on hopes of interest rate cuts. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the amount of cash retail investors poured into U.S. stocks so far in 2025 is up 53 per cent from $197-billion (U.S.) a year earlier and 14 per cent higher than the $270-billion (U.S.) hit at the height of the retail trading frenzy in 2021, according to JPMorgan analysts. Retail trading, meanwhile, accounted for 20 to 25 per cent of total activity this year, touching a record high of about 35 per cent in April. Individual investors snapped up high-quality stocks at discounts during sell-offs, most notably after U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs triggered a global meltdown in April, helping push the S&P 500 to fresh records. The benchmark index is up about 16 per cent. Artificial-intelligence plays such as Nvidia, Palantir and Tesla were top favourites this year, according to retail brokerage data and executives, with Tesla shares hitting a record high on Dec. 17, their first since the end of 2024.