Goldman Sachs consumer discretionary analyst Scott Feiler noted on Wednesday that the firm's prime brokerage data shows hedge funds' overall exposure to U.S. retail stocks has fallen to multi-year lows, indicating a systematic withdrawal of institutional capital from the sector. UBS Managing Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst Michael Lasser's report, published on Thursday, summarized market sentiment as "apathy, caution, and regret," warning investors are facing multiple headwinds including contracting consumer spending power, high interest rates, inflation, labor market uncertainty, tariffs, rising freight costs, and geopolitical turmoil.