Timing the market is hard. Timing it poorly, at scale, with billions of dollars, is an art form that even the most sophisticated players apparently haven’t mastered.
Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data reveals that hedge funds bought global equities at the fastest net pace in four months during the week ending June 4, 2026. Long buying outstripped short selling across nearly every major region, with nine out of eleven global sectors seeing net accumulation. The buying was driven primarily by single stock positions and macro products.
Then June 5 happened.
The Nasdaq Composite plunged 4.18% in a single session, shedding more than 1,121 points. That was the largest single-day point drop in the index’s history. The S&P 500 fell 2.64%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.35%. AI and tech stocks bore the brunt of the damage.
The catalyst was a stronger-than-expected May jobs report. Good economic data means the Federal Reserve has less reason to cut interest rates, and higher borrowing costs are damaging for growth stocks trading at lofty valuations.
