US Equities Weekly Rundown 9 18 26

US Equities Weekly Rundown Global Banking & Markets September 18, 2026 Positioning, Flows, and Observations Across the Floor

Prepared by Prime Brokerage. In evaluating this material, you should know that it could have been previously provided to other clients and/or internal Goldman Sachs personnel, who could have already acted on it. The views or ideas expressed here are those of the desk and/or author only and are not an official view of Goldman Sachs; others at Goldman Sachs may have opinions or may express views that are contrary to those herein. This material is not independent advice and is not a product of Global Investment Research. This material is a solicitation of derivatives business generally, only for the purposes of, and to the extent it would otherwise be subject to, CFTC Regulations 1.71 and 23.605. All references to “we/us/our” refer to the views and observations of the desk unless specified otherwise.

Portfolio Manager’s Summary US stocks rose slightly on Friday with the S&P 500 little changed on the week as investors have been digesting a hawkish Fed hike set against stronger growth impulses and few signs that the AI infrastructure investment cycle is waning. Bitcoin Sensitive, AI Software, and Agentic AI were among the themes that outperformed, while IPPs, Power, and Alternative Asset Managers were among the themes that underperformed.  Prime: US equities saw the largest net buying in five weeks, led by short covers in Macro Products and long buys in Single Stocks. 7 of 11 sectors were net bought, led by Info Tech & Comm Svcs which were the most $ net bought sectors for a third consecutive week, driven by long buys – Most TMT subsectors were net bought, led by Software, Semis & Semi Equip, Telecom Svcs, IT Svcs, and Interactive Media & Svcs. On the other hand, hedge funds net sold Health Care stocks for a fifth straight week and at the fastest pace in nearly six months, driven by long-and-short sales.  Shares: From a flow perspective, Asset Managers were net sellers on the week, with supply concentrated in macro products, communication services, industrials, consumer discretionary, and tech. Hedge Funds finished slightly better for sale with supply in tech vs demand in macro products. Looking ahead to next week, focus will be on the Trump / Xi summit. Also watching a handful of investor days (NVO on Mon; ONON, FSLY, PATH on Tues; MCD, AUR on Wed; and SHW on Thurs) as well as META’s Connect Developer Conference (Wed-Thurs).  Futures: The major US equity index rolls richened slightly to start the week. Monday was the highest volume day in each of the calendar spreads, as is typical, but volumes were even more concentrated into Monday’s session than in past rolls. As volumes tapered off on Tuesday, all of the major spreads reverted back to the cheapening pattern last week and continued to cheapen into expiration on Friday. December funding in ES appears to have settled into the 50-60bp range earlier in the year before the AI-leverage driven rally, but the TRF curve is still pricing a significant premium for year end. Funding between the Z6 and F7 expirations is still elevated at FF+165 though down from ~FF+190 going into the roll period.  Derivatives: Amid persistent geopolitical risk, rates uncertainty and newly emerging AI safety fears, flows were particularly tactical this week. Across the single stock and index space, managers played a fair mix of offense and defense, using options to protect against both tails. While positioning still feels relatively guarded, Thursday’s rally eased investor anxieties, driving the largest 1d decline in our Vol Panic Index in the last 10 years. Implied vols across the TMT space continued to compress, renewing interest in stock replacement trades to retain equity upside with defined downside risk. For example, implied vol in NVDA hit multi-year lows on Friday. We like replacing length / adding delta with outright calls.  Baskets: We are launching over 1,000 Flagship Single Stock Hedge Baskets, providing a more precise alternative to broad market and sector proxies. Using AI-powered thematic mapping and fundamental analysis, we identify the key peers and end markets…