Wall Street's fear gauges just flashed their most bearish readings in months, and the S&P 500 is less than 1.5% below its record high
$Goldman Sachs(GS.US) says its risk appetite indicator turned negative for the first time since the spring, hitting its lowest level since the early days of the Iran war, per CNBC and the WSJ$Wells Fargo(WFC.US)'s buy/sell sentiment gauge crossed the -1 level last week, and Macro Risk Advisors' market sentiment score plunged to around 27 from roughly 61Investors have been dumping AI names and piling into Treasurys. $SOXX logged nine straight losing days last week, its longest losing streak in 20 yearsYet the S&P 500 is trading near 7,719 at midday, just 1.3% below its Oct 6 record close of 7,818.93, and the Dow is up more than 500 points today$Goldman Sachs(GS.US) itself frames the washout as a contrarian signal, pointing to lighter positioning, lower valuations and strong earningsThis is what a wall of worry looks like. When this many investors are already hedged and sitting in bonds, it takes a lot less good news to push the index to new highs, and the real test is whether AI earnings over the next two weeks give them a reason to come backSource: StockMarket.News
