S&P 500 Presidential Cycle Year three of the presidential cycle is Wall Street’s historically strongest period. With that phase just around the corner, the S&P 500 looks positioned for a solid 2027, enough to keep…

Consolidated Equity Positioning Consolidated equity positioning climbed to the 58th percentile, modestly overweight. Crowding isn’t an issue yet, so investors have plenty of room to add risk. Image: Deutsche Bank Asset Allocation

Sentiment Indicator and Stock Positioning Goldman Sachs’ U.S. Equity Sentiment Indicator has slipped to -0.9. After similar readings, the S&P 500 has historically averaged a 0.5% gain over the following month. Image: Goldman Sachs Global…

Different Market Sentiment Indicators Current market sentiment indicators are stuck in neutral, with bullish conviction matching bearish caution. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research

U.S. Equity Index P/E Valuations vs. History Appetite for risk is still there. The Nasdaq 100 and the Russell 2000 trade at 23 times forward earnings, and the S&P 500 at 19 times. Valuations look…

U.S. Core CPI Forecast Goldman Sachs expects hotter U.S. core CPI than markets in September and October, but cooler readings in November and December, meaning markets underprice near-term inflation risk while overpricing its persistence later.…

AAII Sentiment Survey U.S. retail investors are still playing defense. Even with the S&P 500 near record highs, the AAII bull‑bear spread remains negative. That’s the kind of divergence contrarians love. Image: The Daily Chartbook

Indexed Returns of AI-Related Portfolios vs. Equal-Weight S&P 500 The AI rally has mostly been an infrastructure trade, lifting chipmakers, data-center builders and cloud platforms while software and productivity names sit on the sidelines. Image:…

Global Share Buyback vs. Tech Sector Share in U.S. Buybacks Tech’s share of U.S. buybacks has climbed over the past decade, but the trend may begin to reverse, as AI spending diverts cash away from…

S&P 500 – Aggregate Net Profit Margin, 1999-2026, Against Its Long-Run Average S&P 500 margins have moved up and stayed up, sitting around 60% above the long-term average. The question isn’t if that’s lofty, but…

NAAIM Exposure Index – Investor Sentiment​ With the NAAIM Exposure Index at 88.12, active managers are comfortable staying long, keeping U.S. equity exposure elevated and maintaining an optimistic outlook. The National Association of Active Investment Managers Exposure…