Traders Dump Hedges on U.S. Retailers in Sign of Profit Optimism
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Traders are backing away from bearish bets on U.S. consumer stocks just before a big batch of earnings reports, unconvinced that stagnant retail sales spell doom for the industry.
Demand for options that protect against losses in an exchange-traded fund tracking retailers and suppliers of other nonessential consumer goods in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell to the lowest level in more than a year relative to bullish ones, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Short interest on the ETF is four percentage points below its five-year average.