"Short interest in the QQQ Nasdaq ETF has surged"

1. Q3 GDP. "Spending on data centers & computers is now America's single largest investment by far: 50% larger than single-family home construction, 3x factories, or 6x apartments"

2. PCE. "AI-driven inflation in core PCE is slowing finally."

3. AAII Sentiment Survey. The AAII bull-bear spread's 52-week moving average has been negative for 72 consecutive weeks, the third-longest streak on record. S&P 500 is +29% over this period. The two streaks that lasted longer were 2008-10 and 2022-23.

4. Low Vol crowding. "The cautious backdrop (hyperscaler earnings, Anthropic S-1, Brazil, midterms, etc) has coincided with a further shift toward defensive positioning, with crowding in the Low Vol factor rising to ~18%ile from the ~0%ile back in June."

5. Short interest. "Short interest in the QQQ Nasdaq ETF has surged. This has likely a lot to with long/short hedge funds, who use liquid ETFs as well as index futures and options to adjust their betas. But they are not shorting outright. Instead they are shorting index risk to mitigate their net positions"

ICYMI