Key takeaway: A “no fear” attitude envelopes a market marred by mixed signals and deteriorating breadth. Large-cap indexes push to new highs while small and mid-caps trend lower. We even see an expansion in new lows further down the cap scale. But on the surface, optimism shines. Yet, challenges could lie ahead as a lack of risk-seeking behavior suggests a weariness among investors, and seasonal tendencies lean toward a lackluster performance in the coming months. For now, equities remain the popular choice among market participants as investor sentiment obscures the fragile reality beneath the surface.
Sentiment Report Chart of the Week: Investors Love Equities
If you want to know what is loved, see where people put their money. Through the first seven months of the year, equity ETFs have seen more than $350 billion of inflows (over the past year, that number swells to half a trillion). Bond ETFs have seen inflows of one-third that amount, while commodity ETFs have seen outflows.
