Wall Street's Risk-On Momentum Charges into September

As of August 30th, 2025, Wall Street's risk-on momentum is barreling into September with little sign of hesitation. The markets barely flinched this week, even in the face of fresh political pressure on the Federal Reserve and tepid revenue guidance from Nvidia Corp. A late-week tech-led pullback offered only a flicker of doubt in an otherwise resilient summer, with the S&P 500 notching a fourth straight monthly gain.

Across markets, risk appetite continues to spill into corporate bonds, cryptocurrencies, and cyclical currencies. Investors appear to be betting that the Fed will cut interest rates, the US consumer will continue to defy the doubters, and the artificial intelligence story still has momentum. This bullish logic has proven resilient even as trade frictions, a cooling labor market, and conflicting bond signals mount.

One way to measure this prevailing optimism is Societe Generale's cross-asset momentum gauge, which has flirted with the most bullish thresholds multiple times since April. As one analyst notes, "Investors are realizing that the impact of tariffs is not as catastrophic as initially feared and that's giving them more confidence -- a confidence now underscored by solid fundamentals."

Notably, short-term implied volatility across major assets has fallen below long-term averages, reaching levels not seen consistently in around four years. This stretch of cross-asset calm belies the disruption from the shock jobs report just weeks ago, as investors appear to be focusing on the upward revision to US growth in the last quarter.