CTAs Forced Sellers Of $70BN In Global Equities Over The Next Week

With market fundamentals in a state of constant, panicked flux, swinging from one extreme to the other on headline after flashing red headline, as everything - from input costs, to Fed monetary policy, to gas prices and personal consumption, and even Trump's poll numbers - depends on the price of oil and thus when Iran will remove the Strait of Hormuz blockade, this leaves traders with technicals. Here, things aren't pretty. 

As Goldman's Prime Brokerage desk writes in its latest must read Weekly Rundown note (available to pro subs), Gross and Net Leverage fell modestly, but there is still plenty of room to fall: Fundamental L/S Gross leverage -5.1 pts – the largest weekly decline since Oct ‘24 – to 218.1% (87th percentile 1-year) which was likely driven by long book unwinds because as we reported previously, shorts saw the 2nd biggest one day increase on record, and Net leverage +0.3 pts to 55.7% (66th percentile 1-year).