What began as a tentative testing of the equity-market waters is giving evidence of morphing into something bigger.
While a long way from the fervid pitch of the post-pandemic years, there are signs speculative zest is spreading beyond just meme traders, who have pushed AMC Entertainment up 78 per cent in two weeks and caused Bed Bath & Beyond to quintuple.
Comparatively stodgy active fund managers just jacked up stock buying at one of the fastest rates in years, and measures of bullish options exposure are surging.
A model kept by Deutsche Bank measuring sentiment across a host of institutional traders -- while far from screamingly bullish -- shows enthusiasm stirring among the professional class.
Volatility control funds, for instance, have increased equity exposure to 54 per cent from 37 per cent in mid-June. Broadly, the firm’s data show positioning is now half way to neutral after falling to the bottom of its typical range.
Manna for bulls, the trends also fit certain bearish theses, ones that view a revival in animal spirits as a precarious foundation for lasting gains in the face of an ultra-hawkish Federal Reserve.
