July was a reset, bull market remains intact, says Citadel
SPY•Bull market view remains intact
But Rubner does not see these moves as signalling the end of the broader uptrend.
"July did not change the structural bull market. It reset it," he wrote.
Citadel says July shakeout reset positioning
Investors can spend less time worrying about positioning and more time focusing on company fundamentals after a bruising July shakeout, according to Scott Rubner, head of equity and equity derivatives strategy at Citadel Securities.
After a volatile month marked by sharp sector rotations, deleveraging and heavy selling in popular AI-linked stocks, Rubner believes that many of the excesses built up during the first half of 2026 have now been unwound.
Retail selling, weaker tech and semis, and lower leverage
Retail investors, a key force behind the rally, turned sellers in July after record buying in the previous two months. Citadel said selling in technology and semiconductor stocks not only cut positioning but also accelerated one of the fastest deleveraging episodes of the year.
Leveraged ETFs' assets under management are now more than $60 billion below their June peak, funding conditions have normalised and concentration has declined as semiconductor stocks lost ground.
