Credit Investors in Europe Are Most Bearish Since at Least 2023

Credit investors are the most bearish on the European high-grade market in at least three years, credit default swaps show.

Net buying of iTraxx Europe index contracts — a way for investors to protect against company defaults — amounted to $17 billion as of the end of last week, based on DTCC data compiled by Barclays Plc. That’s the most “short risk” figure in at least three years, according to analysts at Barclays, and follows years of net selling by money managers making a broad-based bullish bet on investment-grade credit.