By Carolina Mandl

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Global hedge funds accelerated the unwinding of stock positions on Monday, mainly in the industrial sector, as they seek to reduce risk amid a selloff in U.S. stocks, according to Goldman Sachs notes.

The bank said in a note that the de-risking had accelerated from Friday, a trend it had previously compared with some early-COVID pandemic unwinding.

Hedge funds cut their equities exposure on Monday as a steep selloff drove the S&P 500 index to its biggest one-day drop since December 18 and the Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 4% on fears of a recession triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports.

Goldman Sachs said portfolio managers ditched both long and short bets on specific stocks on Monday, and fundamental long/short hedge funds declined 1.9% on the day. Although it was the worst day since June 13, 2022, the funds outperformed the S&P, which was down 2.7%.

The unwinding on Friday and Monday represented the largest two-day deleveraging in four years, with industrials leading the pack. Goldman Sachs added that the exit from industrials was at a record high.

Industrial companies have been out of favor among investors, a separate Goldman Sachs note showed, pointing to weak earnings, slowing orders and outlooks under pressure.

(Reporting by Carolina Mandl in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)