Goldman: Buying opportunity in US stocks at end of month

Investors will have a brief window to buy the dip in U.S. stocks later this month as systematic funds ease selling pressure and companies ramp up stock buybacks, according to Scott Rubner of Goldman Sachs Group. “The worst of the August mismatch in equity supply and demand is over,” Rubner, managing director and tactician of the firm’s global markets division, wrote in a note to clients on Monday, adding that he would tactically buy stocks on Aug. 30. In late June, Rubner had recommended reducing positions in U.S. stocks after July 4, predicting that stocks were “in the final legs of a meltdown” by July 17. The S&P 500 Index did indeed reach a record closing high on July 16 and has fallen about 6% since then. Rules-based systematic funds, which track market signals and volatility models, sold $109 billion worth of global equity futures last month, according to Goldman. Rubner said he sees “ample evidence that the worst of the market techniques and negative positioning are behind us,” although he expects selling pressure to continue over the next seven days.