May 11, 05:00 AM

U.S. Stocks See Largest Four-Week Outflow in Two Years Amid Hedge Fund Bearishness, $1.2B Tech Outflows, and Retail Buying Streak

U.S. equities have experienced notable outflows in recent weeks, marking the largest four-week withdrawal in two years. Hedge funds are currently extremely bearish on U.S. stocks, with short positions at levels not seen since the 2022 bear market. Institutional investors have been reducing their exposure to U.S. equities, as indicated by declining funding spreads for long positions in futures, options, and swaps, reaching their lowest point since August 2024. Despite this, retail investors have been buying U.S. equities for 21 consecutive weeks, the longest such streak on record, surpassing the previous high of 10 weeks before the 2022 downturn. Technology stocks in particular saw $1.2 billion in net outflows in the week ending May 7, the largest withdrawal in nearly three months. Concurrently, investors are shifting capital toward safer assets, with ETFs tracking gold, short-term U.S. government bonds, and low-volatility stocks attracting $18 billion in inflows in April, the highest in two years. Additionally, cryptocurrency has seen its biggest four-week inflow in three months, drawing liquidity away from traditional equity markets. European ETFs invested in U.S. debt and stocks experienced outflows of €2.5 billion in April, the largest since early 2023, reflecting a broader shift from the U.S. market to Europe.

#Europe

Written with ChatGPT (GPT-4).

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