Hedge funds are dumping stocks at the fastest pace in three months as what’s often called ” the smart money ” stepped up bearish wagers against equities amid the recent pullback. The professionals sold global stocks on a net basis for a second straight week last week, driven almost entirely by short sales, according to Goldman Sachs’ prime brokerage data. It marked the biggest selling week for hedge funds since mid-January, the data showed. Separately, Bank of America’s client data showed a similar trend. Its hedge fund clients sold stocks for a fifth consecutive week last week, exiting shares across small-, mid- and large-cap companies. The market is in the middle of a retreat as investors reassess the Federal Reserve’s path to cutting interest rates. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.3% last week, its worst weekly performance since March 2023. The S & P 500 declined nearly 1%, its biggest weekly loss since early January, although the equity benchmark is still only 1.7% below its 52-week high. .SPX YTD mountain S & P 500 “Valuations are so stretched right now that anything less than perfection from economic data or any geopolitical noise can create substantial and quick selloffs.” said David Bahnsen, chief investment officer at Bahnsen Group. Consumer discretionary stocks were among the worst performing and the most sold U.S. sectors on a net basis last week, Goldman said. The Wall Street investment bank noted that hedge fund managers reduced long positions in the sector every day and shorted retail-focused exchange-traded funds. The SPDR S & P Retail ETF (XRT) dropped 5.5% on the week. One of the biggest drivers of the recent pullback has been a shift in interest rate expectations. The market has again dialed back its outlook for rate cuts this year, seeing a coin flip between two and three reductions, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch gauge of trading in the fed funds futures market. Traders started the year pricing in as many as seven rate cuts for 2024. “We think June is no longer a given for the Fed to start cutting rates — but see rate cuts coming as inflation falls,” Jean Boivin, head of the BlackRock Investment Institute, said in a note Monday. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
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Time is the most valuable thing any of us has. Therefore, why not keep track of it in the most accurate and stylish way possible, relishing every second? Amazon can help you do that with its incredible selection of high-end watches. One of them, from Citizen, is currently available for half off, and we think it ticks all the boxes.
The Citizen Calandrier Eco-Drive Watch is on sale for $260 right now, which is 50% off the regular price of $525. Not only does this watch give you the time, but it even tells you the day and the date.
Citizen Calandrier Eco-Drive Watch, $260 (was $625) at Amazon
While a watch that tells the time is useful, one that does that and lets you know exactly what day and date it is can keep you on schedule better than you might imagine. In addition to the time, day, and date functions, this watch has a 24-hour tracker and world time function, so you can know what time it is anywhere in the world.
With a stainless steel case and bracelet, the timepiece oozes elegance and durability. Its blue dial is highly legible and attractive, and is sure to get you plenty of compliments. It also has a scratch-resistant mineral crystal and 100 meters of water resistance. The Japan-made quartz movement inside operates off of solar energy, provided by the Eco-Drive technology within.
Amazon customers raved about this watch. One called it “my favorite watch,” adding, “I fell in love with how it looked…It feels and looks like a very high-quality watch. All the functions work perfectly and are not hard to read.”
Another touted the “beautiful blue dial,” and said, “I love good-looking watches…but if the design can incorporate useful functions as well, it’s a winner for me. And this watch does all of that.”
The Citizen Calandrier Eco-Drive Watch will let you know exactly when you are, and it can do so in style. It can also do so for only $260 at the moment, so why not take a chance? We would never waste your time if it weren’t worth it.
Check out the companies making headlines in premarket trading. Oil stocks — Energy stocks climbed in premarket trading amid a jump in oil prices after Israel launched airstrikes against Iran without U.S. support, drawing concerns over the supply outlook from the oil-rich Persian Gulf. Chevron and Exxon Mobil rallied about 3% each, while ConocoPhillips jumped more than 4%. EOG Resources gained more than 3%. Gold stocks — Stocks tied to gold advanced as investors flocked to the perceived safe haven amid the geopolitical escalation. Newmont and SSR Mining both rose more than 1%, as did the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) . Defense stocks — Weapons manufacturers rose amid elevated geopolitical risk following Israel’s attack on Iran. RTX and Northrop Grumman both surged more than 4%, Lockheed Martin gained 3.5% and L3Harris Technologies added 2.2%. Cruise lines and airlines — Travel companies slid as investors worried that heightened risk would deter vacationers and spikes in oil prices would hurt profit. Carnival fell more than 4%, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises dropped more than 3% each. United Airlines weakened more than 5% while Delta Air Lines and American Airlines each declined more than 4%. Southwest Airlines shed more than 2%. Hotel stocks — Hotel and resort stocks declined as traders weighed the outlook for diminished travel demand following Israel’s strike on Iran. Hilton Worldwide and InterContinental Hotels Group slipped more than 2% apiece, while Marriott pulled back nearly 2%. RH — The home furnishings retailer jumped 19% after posting a surprise adjusted profit in its fiscal first-quarter. RH earned an adjusted 13 cents per share, while analysts surveyed by LSEG expected a loss of 9 cents per share. Net income of $8 million reversed a year-earlier loss of $3.6 million, but revenue trailed Street estimates. RH shares were down more than 50% year to date ahead of the report. DraftKings — Shares of the sports betting app lost nearly 3% after imposing a 50-cent transaction fee in Illinois starting in September after state lawmakers passed a budget including what one analyst described as a surprise increase in an online gambling tax . Adobe — Shares fell more than 3% after the graphic design software company posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. StreetAccount cited concern over a “slight deceleration in Subscription and cRPO growth rates [and] implied Q4 growth outlook.” In the latest quarter, Adobe earned an adjusted $5.06 per share on $5.87 billion in revenue, above the $4.96 per share and $5.79 billion in revenue analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting. Adobe also lifted its full-year guidance. GE Vernova — The turbine manufacturer slipped nearly 3% on the heels of a downgrade to peer perform from outperform at Wolfe Research. Analyst Nigel Coe cited concern over GE Vernova’s “challenging valuation” after a more than 48% gain for the stock in 2025. — CNBC’s Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Sean Conlon and Brian Evans contributed reporting