Goldman Sachs: Information Technology Stocks See Biggest Sell-Off in a Decade, Selling Pressure May Be Nearing Exhaustion

According to TechFlow Research, Goldman Sachs' August 3 position tracking report shows that the volume of long sales for global information technology stocks last week reached the highest level since 2014, with the total selling volume over two consecutive days ranking second highest in nearly a decade. Hedge funds' total leverage gave back half of its year-to-date gains, and net leverage turned negative year-to-date. Retail margin balances in South Korea and Japan began to reverse after reaching historical extremes, while US retail investors are also reducing semiconductor stock holdings. Speculative net shorts in VIX futures have largely been cleared. Goldman Sachs believes the intensity of deleveraging may have peaked, but the inertia of capital outflows persists. Individual stock implied volatility rose to the highest level since 2020, index correlation fell to low levels, and the market is shifting from trading the AI sector broadly to differentiated pricing of individual stocks. Bond funds and money market funds are the main drivers of capital inflows this year; equity funds saw inflows of $34 billion in July, with an absolute scale far smaller than that of the bond market. Goldman Sachs judges that the stock selection environment is improving, but sector beta trading still faces pressure.