Investor Sentiment Turning Cautious
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US bank shares fell
The third-quarter earnings season in the US has picked up pace following the release of the latest figures from US banks. Based on preliminary expectations, the third quarter is likely to have closed with strong earnings growth for S&P 500 companies, led by the energy and technology sectors. The major US banks have still achieved solid growth on an annual basis, indicating that their operations remain strong, but the pace has clearly slowed in many cases, which has tended to result in negative share price reactions.
Commodities - Technical Analysis
Gold and silver continued their downward trend, bouncing off key levels. Until their downward trends are broken, they will not be able to produce a significant rise. The fall in oil prices reversed from the $87.5 level and began a slight upward movement. Natural gas remained in an uptrend; a significant rise could even occur if it breaks out upwards. The price of copper has become stuck in a wider range, so the oversold and overbought zones may offer more favourable trading opportunities. The falling prices of wheat and corn have reached key support levels; a buying reaction from these levels could present favourable long opportunities with limited risk.
Over 30 senior financial professionals, active in CEE markets and managing more than EUR 6.5 billion in assets under direct control, participated in our Institutional Investor Survey. Here, we highlight the most notable insights.
Investor positioning turns meaningfully more cautious across asset classes. Risk appetite has dropped sharply: the share of investors taking above-benchmark risk fell from 33% to 20%, while low-risk allocations doubled to 30%, pointing to a clear shift toward capital preservation amid geopolitical escalation.
CEE equity sentiment cools with BUX and CETOP both face a regional risk repricing. BUX optimism collapsed (bullish: 42% › 23%), while CETOP also re-rated lower as its prior valuation discount normalized back to pre-war levels. Rising geopolitical uncertainty — including declining expectations for a near-term Russia–Ukraine peace — is driving a more measured regional outlook.
FX visibility collapses, while HUF becomes both top potential outperformer and underperformer. EUR/HUF’s return to 390–395 and higher oil-driven vulnerability increased dispersion dramatically. HUF and PLN are now tied as expected outperformers (both 30%), but HUF is simultaneously viewed as the most likely underperformer — signaling exceptionally high uncertainty and volatility expectations.
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