Market briefing
Equity market strength continued in May on the back of aggressive central bank stimulus. Also, a lack of choice -between negative yielding German government debt and equity risk premiums- remains when it comes to asset allocation. This left investors in a quandary; while not wanting to miss out on positive momentum, they also question the divergence and disconnect to economic fundamentals. Despite markets posting another positive month, implied volatility remained comparatively well supported. A likely driver is the net short positioning by some hedge funds either through outright short index futures or long put options. [...]
Facts & figures
