FINRA Debit Balance in Securities Margin Accounts Leverage in margin accounts has surged since April 2025, reflecting strong market optimism. The catch is that higher leverage can turn painful fast when volatility spikes, triggering forced liquidations that weigh on the broader market. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Share of Global Market Capitalization The U.S., with barely 4% of the world’s people, dominates 63% of global equity value. Its innovation engines continue to magnetize foreign money. Like it or not, global markets still move to America’s rhythm. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
S&P 500 Earnings & Estimates and Earnings Growth Trend Line S&P 500 earnings have significantly outpaced historical growth trends. If profits start to slip in the coming quarters, richly valued stocks could face a sharp reckoning. Image: Real Investment Advice
S&P 500 Performance and Risk Appetite Indicator Good news for the bulls: Goldman Sachs’s Risk Appetite Indicator broke above 1.0 last week, a bullish signal that has historically lined up with roughly 15% median gains in the S&P 500 over the next 12 months. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Commodities vs. 50/50 S&P 500 and U.S. Treasuries Commodities remain undervalued relative to U.S. stocks and bonds, offering room for strategic allocations that enhance portfolio balance. Image: Bloomberg
Gold Prices in Real Terms Gold’s real price is sky-high right now. It’s a very different story from the dot-com boom, when investors piled into tech and gold fell out of favor almost overnight. Image: Deutsche Bank
Cumulative Gold Demand – Gold ETF vs. Central Banks Amid macro conditions, currency moves, and rising geopolitical tension, gold’s rally gathered pace in 2025 as central banks began competing with private investors for scarce bullion. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
U.S. Equity Index Valuations vs. History The S&P SmallCap 600’s forward P/E of 16x looks attractive by historical standards, while the S&P 500’s 22x forward multiple, sitting in the 94th percentile, paints a very different picture on valuation. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Gold Price vs. Other Assets You have to go all the way back to 1980 to find a time when gold looked this pricey against other assets. The question now is whether the metal cools while everything else catches up. Image: Bloomberg
Inflation – U.S. ISM Services Prices vs. Super Core PCE History shows the U.S. ISM Services Prices Index tends to lead super core inflation by five months, which means sticky prices aren’t going anywhere soon. Image: Deutsche Bank
S&P 500 Returns in January The S&P 500 is up 1% so far this month. January has finished higher three years in a row. Could this be the fourth? Since 1950, when January finishes in the green, the rest of the year has risen 87% of the time. Image: Carson Investment Research