i would say it is retail investors who signed up for short term...

i would say it is retail investors who signed up for short term gains and when this has not happened they are cutting their losses. Rather than a string of pearls there has been a string of announcements that have not actually been bad news but have been less than expectations and if you have a short term viewpoint then your risk appetite is going to be tested. Expectations unfortunately are associated with hype or more likely what has happened in other cases, reality is very different. Of course once it starts falling the panic continues.