Barclays Says Seasonality, Midterms, Rate Swings and AI IPOs Argue for Selectively Lower Stock Risk

Barclays Plc’s head of European equity strategy, Emmanuel Cau, said September seasonality, the U.S. midterm elections, interest-rate volatility and a coming wave of artificial-intelligence initial public offerings are building a case for stock investors to cut risk selectively, arguing equities will struggle to grind higher until the bond market steadies. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, Cau said it is “very hard to see the equity market moving higher without some degree of stabilization in the bond market” and that “there is a case to reduce beta selectively.” The comments were reported as September trading got under way in a U.S. midterm year. Barclays