S&P 500 Sectors Announced Buybacks (Last 3 Months) Over the past three months, buyback announcements have been led by Financials, Tech and Industrials, which together make up most of the repurchase activity in U.S. equities. Image: Deutsche Bank Asset Allocation
Commodities (Oil, Gold, Copper) – Commodity Net Long Positioning Momentum in gold and copper is firmly with the bulls as net-long positions build. The trend still has legs, but this isn’t an early-cycle trade anymore. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
S&P 500 3-Month Option-Implied Volatility Single-stock volatility in the S&P 500 has eased from July’s extremes but remains above its long-term average, while index volatility is still relatively calm. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
S&P 500 Weekly Announced Buybacks While the pace of new S&P 500 buyback announcements has cooled in the past few weeks, overall buyback activity in corporate America remains firm, providing steady support for stocks. Image: Deutsche Bank Asset Allocation
Cross Asset Flows as a % of Assets Government bonds continue to draw strong investor demand, offering relatively attractive yields while interest rates stay high. Image: Deutsche Bank Asset Allocation
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