Macro Economy
The influx of investments into cryptocurrencies amounted to +$1.1 billion, bringing the total inflow since the beginning of the year to +$2.7 billion:
Flows of funds into cryptocurrencies
Options volume on individual stocks has risen significantly over the past week and is now at a new 18-month high, suggesting investors are set for continued gains:
Volume of individual stock options
Institutional investors
Hedge funds bought US stocks (mostly individual stocks rather than funds) for the 3rd week in a row at the fastest pace since March 2023:
Hedge fund flows into US equities
Hedge funds made their biggest purchases of cyclical stocks since September 2021. Industrials stocks were bought for the 6th week in a row, and this was the largest net purchase of the year:
Hedge fund flows into US equities by sector
Weight of Industrials in Hedge Fund Portfolios vs. Weight of Industrials in the MSCI World Index
Despite recent purchases of cyclical stocks, their share in hedge fund portfolios relative to defensive sectors still remains at 4-year lows:
Share of cyclical stocks in hedge fund portfolios relative to defensive sectors
The funds' net positions in oil futures have been rising since the end of last year and reached their highest level since 3Q 2023:
Funds' net positions in oil futures
The share of US stocks in fund managers' portfolios increased by 7 percentage points. m/m to a net gain of 21%, the highest since November 2021, with the sector with the largest gain being technology:
Overweight of US stocks in fund managers' portfolios
Overweight of US technology stocks in fund managers' portfolios
Housing market
The fixed rate on 30-year mortgages increased by 7 bps. over the last week to 6.87%, the highest in the last 2 months:
Average fixed rate for 30-year mortgages
The NAHB Housing Market Index, which measures homebuilder sentiment, rose to 48 (consensus 46, 44 previously) and hit a 6-month high in February:
NAHB Housing Market Index
Retail
The share of "bullish" sentiment among retail investors, according to the AAII survey, decreased from 49% to 42.2% over the past week. Bearish sentiment increased from 22.6% to 26.8%:
AAII Retail Investor Sentiment Survey
