Goldman Sachs warns: Hedge funds record-breaking short positions on US stocks, AI disruption concerns trigger market volatility

BlockBeats News, February 10 — Goldman Sachs issued a warning that as concerns about artificial intelligence potentially disrupting traditional business models continue to rise, hedge funds are shorting US stocks at an unprecedented pace. Data shows that last week, the nominal short position in individual stocks reached a new high since records began in 2016.

Goldman Sachs’ commodities brokerage team noted in a client report that from January 30 to February 5, hedge fund short trading volume significantly exceeded buying volume at a ratio of approximately 2:1. Overall, hedge funds have been net sellers of US stocks for four consecutive weeks, with the selling pace reaching its highest level since early April last year.

Market volatility is closely linked to advances in AI technology. Reports indicate that after Anthropic launched a new tool capable of automating multi-industry tasks, a market-wide sell-off was triggered. A total of 164 stocks in sectors such as software, financial services, and asset management lost about $611 billion in market value last week.

Although US stocks rebounded on a dip last Friday, the Nasdaq 100 index still recorded its worst weekly performance of the year, reflecting that market sentiment remains fragile.