Asian Hedge Fund Manager, Long Short Equity, Macro

David Mudd

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>DC company share prices are rolling over, foreshadowing increasing pressure on their hyperscaler customers.  Since the July swoon in semiconductor stocks, the DC sector has underperformed both hyperscalers and semiconductors.</li>
<li>DC players face strong headwinds on multiple fronts, including high leverage/circular financing, supply chain delays, public opposition, and questions about aggressive forecasts of future compute demand.</li>
<li>Leverage is the most prominent risk in the DC sector, with questions looming about completion dates and customers' ability to meet their contracted offtake agreements.</li>
</ul>


DC company share prices are rolling over, foreshadowing increasing pressure on their hyperscaler customers.  Since the July swoon in semiconductor stocks, the DC sector has underperformed both hyperscalers and semiconductors.
DC players face strong headwinds on multiple fronts, including high leverage/circular financing, supply chain delays, public opposition, and questions about aggressive forecasts of future compute demand.
Leverage is the most prominent risk in the DC sector, with questions looming about completion dates and customers' ability to meet their contracted offtake agreements.


DATA CENTER SECTOR: From the Tip of the Spear to Canary in the Coal Mine

Director, Sentiment Matters

Lars Kreckel

Director

The mood of the market, mapped and decoded

Sentiment Matters

Investor sentiment is the overall mood of investors - how bullish or bearish they are on a market or asset.

Sentiment is part of every investor’s investment process. Whether for macro investors, stock pickers, or thematic investors, it matters whether a position is consensus or contrarian.

<ul>
<li>
Buy Side Sentiment Tracker: we aggregate asset-allocation views from 54 top asset managers across 73 assets, based on 1,400+ individual views.</li>
<li>
Bullish, but not extreme: Risk appetite is high and rising, yet equity downgrades and resilient sovereign demand show the Buy Side is far from universally risk-on.</li>
<li>
Max Contrarian: Infrastructure, Industrial Metals and Gold are most popular; Swiss Franc, Cash and Consumer Staples are least popular.</li>
</ul>



Buy Side Sentiment Tracker: we aggregate asset-allocation views from 54 top asset managers across 73 assets, based on 1,400+ individual views.

Bullish, but not extreme: Risk appetite is high and rising, yet equity downgrades and resilient sovereign demand show the Buy Side is far from universally risk-on.

Max Contrarian: Infrastructure, Industrial Metals and Gold are most popular; Swiss Franc, Cash and Consumer Staples are least popular.


Sentiment Matters: Buy Side Sentiment Tracker - October 2026

<ul>
<li>
Treasuries Sentiment has turned sharply bearish, but not extreme. The SMA sits around the 30th percentile, still above its historical buy threshold.</li>
<li>
The underlying picture is mixed. Momentum and some speculative positioning are very bearish, while buy-side sentiment, options, analyst expectations and flows remain closer to neutral.</li>
<li>
This is not broad capitulation. Price action has been persistently poor rather than disorderly, leaving room for sentiment to deteriorate further before a stronger contrarian signal emerges.</li>
</ul>



Treasuries Sentiment has turned sharply bearish, but not extreme. The SMA sits around the 30th percentile, still above its historical buy threshold.

The underlying picture is mixed. Momentum and some speculative positioning are very bearish, while buy-side sentiment, options, analyst expectations and flows remain closer to neutral.

This is not broad capitulation. Price action has been persistently poor rather than disorderly, leaving room for sentiment to deteriorate further before a stronger contrarian signal emerges.


Sentiment Matters: US Treasuries Bearish, But Not Capitulation

Equity Long-Short

Mo Aziz

<ul>
<li>
The bond sell-off is global, not rerouted: 10-year yields are up 66-141bp in 12 months across Japan, Germany, the UK and the US. No developed market bond market gave refuge.</li>
<li>
The cash pile is a myth. US money funds are down US$90bn from their 2 Sep peak; equity funds took in US$79bn in the week to 16 Sep.</li>
<li>
Payrolls missed (+29k vs 90k), yet the 10-year closed at 5.27%. Gold broke the US$4,200 kill switch: NEUTRAL. Own TIPS in thirds; hedge dollar exposure if DXY fails at 102.13.</li>
</ul>



The bond sell-off is global, not rerouted: 10-year yields are up 66-141bp in 12 months across Japan, Germany, the UK and the US. No developed market bond market gave refuge.

The cash pile is a myth. US money funds are down US$90bn from their 2 Sep peak; equity funds took in US$79bn in the week to 16 Sep.

Payrolls missed (+29k vs 90k), yet the 10-year closed at 5.27%. Gold broke the US$4,200 kill switch: NEUTRAL. Own TIPS in thirds; hedge dollar exposure if DXY fails at 102.13.


Asset Allocation Strategy: Bond Sell-Off, No Cash Pile, Gold Stopped Out, TIPS Over the U.S. Dollar

<ul>
<li>September Hormuz transits are the highest since February outside the MoU window, yet at 117 a week they are still roughly 85% below the pre-war norm.</li>
<li>The oil market is not getting safer, it is getting better at operating under insecurity ("Lloyd’s List"). Direct Gulf-to-India VLCC runs and Abu Dhabi-backed shuttles are adaptation, not resolution.</li>
<li>Three tankers were attacked on Wednesday and crude rose just 1.3%. Own the adapters, take profits on the rate spike, and treat reopening headlines as noise until liners return.</li>
</ul>


September Hormuz transits are the highest since February outside the MoU window, yet at 117 a week they are still roughly 85% below the pre-war norm.
The oil market is not getting safer, it is getting better at operating under insecurity ("Lloyd’s List"). Direct Gulf-to-India VLCC runs and Abu Dhabi-backed shuttles are adaptation, not resolution.
Three tankers were attacked on Wednesday and crude rose just 1.3%. Own the adapters, take profits on the rate spike, and treat reopening headlines as noise until liners return.


Strait of Hormuz: Oil Is Moving Again, but Nothing Is Fixed. Markets Have Got Better at Adapting

Czech Republic
Insights on Czech Republic

DATA CENTER SECTOR: From the Tip of the Spear to Canary in the Coal Mine

The sudden plunge in demand for an Nvidia-backed data center company’s initial public offering is revealing fresh cracks in the AI funding boom....

David Mudd

Sentiment Matters: Buy Side Sentiment Tracker - October 2026

Buy-side sentiment is bullish and still rising, but not universally risk-on. Infrastructure, Industrial Metals and Gold lead; Swiss Franc, Cash and...

Lars Kreckel

Sentiment Matters: US Treasuries Bearish, But Not Capitulation

Treasury sentiment has fallen sharply, but not to capitulation. The SMA is around the 30th percentile, with momentum very weak but broader...

Lars Kreckel

Asset Allocation Strategy: Bond Sell-Off, No Cash Pile, Gold Stopped Out, TIPS Over the U.S. Dollar

Bonds are sold everywhere, not rerouted: Japan, German, UK and US 10-year yields are all up. No cash pile either: US money funds fell US$90bn. Own...

Mo Aziz

Strait of Hormuz: Oil Is Moving Again, but Nothing Is Fixed. Markets Have Got Better at Adapting

Gulf exports are the best since the war began, yet transits are ~85% below normal and three tankers were hit on Wednesday. Own the adapters, fade...

Mo Aziz