JPMorgan and Citadel Securities Both Warn: Stay Cautious Ahead of Nonfarm Payrolls, Advise Investors to Hedge Downside Risk in Advance

Odaily News JPMorgan and Citadel Securities have both issued short-term warnings, advising investors to remain cautious ahead of the upcoming period of dense macro data releases and the Federal Reserve policy meeting, and to utilize option prices currently at yearly lows to strengthen downside risk hedging.

After Fed Chair Warsh delivered a clear signal in his highly anticipated speech on August 28, emphasizing that U.S. inflation has not shown any substantial slowdown, the trading team led by JPMorgan's Head of U.S. Market Intelligence, Andrew Tyler, decided to abandon their bullish stance ahead of the September 16 Fed policy decision. Although they expect economic data and corporate earnings to continue providing support, they have downgraded their view on U.S. equities to tactically cautious.

Scott Rubner, Head of Equity and Equity Derivatives Strategy at Citadel Securities, noted that retail investor buying activity in September, as tracked by his firm, has been the weakest of the year since 2019. On days when the S&P 500 index declines, average net retail buying volume is only about half of normal levels. (Bloomberg)