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The Ominous "Other": Record Bearish Liquidation Is Misery For The Bears

Even as resilient US macroeconomic data powering a continued rebound in US equities, non-Dealers sold another boatload of S&P 500 futures in the past week, and as Goldman's derivatives trader Robert Wuinn writes in his latest Futures recap note, the weekly Commitment of Traders report covering flows from April 29th - May 6th, exhibited $17.1bn of Non-Dealer net selling.  Taking a closer look, the "Other" category dominated, capping a nearly unprecedented stretch of liquidation; and yet the resultant level of Other gross longs still remains elevated. Therefore absent consistent demand elsewhere, ongoing normalization in Other presents a headwind for Non-Dealer net length. Meanwhile, Quinn notes that over the next few sessions, and ahead of crucial trade negotiations between the US and China, some broader support finally manifested.  

Here are the details:

With resilient US macroeconomic data powering a continued rebound in US equities, Non-Dealers sold S&P 500 futures. Commitment of Traders, covering flows from April 29th - May 6th, exhibited $17.1bn of Non-Dealer net selling. Non-Dealers have now sold in 7 of the past 8 weeks in what remains the most aggressive derisking since covid. Throughout the most recent observation window, S&P rose 0.8%; US ISM Manufacturing, ISM Services, and Nonfarm payrolls all beat expectations. In other words, as Powell himself noted, the hard data remains stubbornly resilient even as Democrat respondents to various suerveys (such as UMich) see nothing but pestilence, hyperinflation and destruction ahead.

via May 11th 2025