Equity Net Long Positioning – Asset Managers Net Future Positions Asset managers are piling into S&P 500 futures longs, pushing net exposure to elevated levels. The bet is straightforward: more upside. The risk? Any reversal leaves little cushion. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
S&P 500 Seasonal Composite Midterm Election Year The S&P 500 Seasonal Composite still points to more upside for 2026, but the path could get choppy. U.S. stocks are entering their weakest seasonal stretch, which typically runs from mid-August to early October. Image: Nautilus Research
Hyperscaler Capex Estimates by Year Wall Street keeps underestimating the scale of hyperscalers’ AI spending. What looked like a temporary surge is turning into a multiyear race for data centers, chips, networking capacity and power. Image: BCA Research
3-Month Peak to Trough Decline in Hedge Fund Gross Leverage Hedge funds cut exposure aggressively in July, triggering one of the sharpest de-grossing episodes of the past decade and a steep selloff in their most popular positions, particularly in AI, semiconductor and momentum stocks. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Short Interest as % of Market Capitalization S&P 500 Median Short interest in the median S&P 500 stock stands at 3.2%, elevated but consistent with hedging flows rather than a bearish conviction trade, and still short of signaling a market inflection. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Valuations – S&P 500 Sector Forward P/E Energy remains the market’s valuation laggard, while Industrials, Healthcare and Consumer Staples are already priced for a lot of optimism. Image: The Daily Shot
Large Cap Healthcare Positioning Large-cap healthcare positioning sits at the 55th percentile, just above neutral and far from crowded, leaving room for buyers to add. Image: Deutsche Bank Asset Allocation
G7 Budget Deficits, Share of GDP The U.S. is running by far the largest budget deficit among G7 economies when measured relative to GDP, and projections show little improvement over the next few years. Image: Gavekal, Macrobond
U.S. 10s30s and 20Y to 30Y Buybacks Buybacks are starting to look like fiscal QE, with the Treasury flooding the system with short‑term debt to fund the deficit. The problem is that rising yields are draining that liquidity almost as fast as it arrives. Image: Bloomberg
S&P 500 – Real Growth of $1 in U.S. Stocks Since 1871, U.S. stocks have spent about three out of every four months below a previous peak. The trend line goes up, but the typical investor experience is more red ink than new highs. Image: Real Investment Advice
S&P 500 Abnormal Returns The market keeps rewarding the stubborn. For more than 25 years, U.S. equities have brushed off one wave of bad news after another. Bull markets don’t wait for the headlines to improve. They climb, one worry at a time. Image: Marketwatch