Citadel sees a bullish market reset as stocks jump

Aug 04, 2026

Stocks are ripping higher and a new Citadel note argues the recent pullback was a healthy reset, which is good news for investors who stayed in or bought the dip.

  • A Citadel document says the messy selling in late July — the biggest week of retail selling since 2022 — was mostly forced deleveraging that is now behind us.
  • Tech got hit hardest, with software seeing its largest one-day retail dump, dragging names like Palantir down before they snapped back sharply.
  • The bounce looks powerful: the Nasdaq 100 jumped about 5% in a day and a half, and software and chip ETFs blew through key levels faster than expected.
  • The rally is being fueled by people piling back into margin debt after getting squeezed out, plus a strong earnings season, with second-quarter S&P 500 profit growth revised up sharply.
  • Supporting signs are stacking up: manufacturing hiring turned positive for the first time in almost three years, big tech keeps raising AI spending, and a company buyback window is now open.

Outlook: If this week's jobs data holds up, both hardware and software stocks could keep climbing toward new record highs, though the heavy use of borrowed money sets up sharper swings later.

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