Record gold crowded by one player

For the first time in two years, US megacap tech stocks are no longer considered the most crowded trade on the planet.

- Mike Dolan

They've been overtaken by gold, and that's partly related to eye-popping bullion buying from China.

Bank of America's latest monthly survey of global fund managers throws up some fascinating details about how investors' anxieties and trading patterns have shifted as the trade war has escalated.

Global investors, who cite a recession triggered by a trade war as the single biggest risk over the next year, have slashed their holdings of US equities over the past two months by the most ever.

Consequently, 36% of funds are now underweight Wall Street stocks, the most bearish positioning in almost two years.

That pullback has been so significant that pricey Big Tech stocks, led by the "Magnificent Seven" megacaps, have lost their most crowded trade crown for the first time in 24 months.

And in a nervy environment in which the US Treasury market has been shaken and fears of a widespread exit from US assets have weighed on the dollar, it was perhaps unsurprisingly gold that unseated the "Mag 7". Almost 50% of BofA respondents now cite the dash for the precious metal as the most crowded position.