Last week was dull on the surface (SPX -31 bps on the week with the VIX registering ~6-mo lows), but a very dynamic one under the hood as Quality, Crowding, Momentum and Growth factors all lagged sharply as Goldman Sachs trading floor noted flows skewed (modestly) better for sale.
Top Goldman Tech trader, Peter Callahan, saw no obvious reason for the jumpy price action, rather, noting it felt mostly like reversion (AI / Winners ran hot into quarter-end), digestion of macro (tariff 'clarity' -> pro-cyclical price action?) and easing financial conditions (e.g. see GS Retail Favs basket breaking out).
All-in-all, Callahan said it wasn't a particularly fun week as breadth remains narrow (AI remains the dominant, two-way theme … and, yes, ‘meme’ stocks) and investors are challenged to decide between sticking whats working (even if it feels stretched, expensive, consensus and prone to momentum unwinds), OR, try to pick away at pockets of controversy (the “Belly” of Tech) and hope the ‘rubber band’ doesn’t stretch all that much further (this is SMID internet, Software, Services, Value stocks).
