From a sentiment perspective, Altmann pointed out that the bank’s Equity Euphoria Indicator (EEI) had dropped to the lowest level since mid-August, providing a tailwind to the trading desk’s market-timing indicator.

This illustrates that “excess froth is firmly out of the picture for the time being,” Altmann said. The S&P 500 ended the week at 6,734, up 0.08% across a volatile five days.

Aaron Nordvik, head of macro equity strategy for UBS’s trading floor, said he sees the S&P 500 breaching the 7,000 milestone before year-end and advised clients to buy any pullback. His target implies a gain of roughly 4%.

“I’m positioning for a year-end rally,” Nordvik said. Specifically, it’s a good-time to buy up some of the high-quality technology companies that got caught up in the momentum selloff — which by Friday afternoon were bouncing back. “AI is leading the path higher. Secular trends remain in place, and nothing has changed.”

He added that although the narrative around artificial intelligence technology had come into question across recent weeks, the earnings picture from the latest reporting cycle suggest the trade remains intact.

From a seasonal standpoint, “buy in November” returns — the subsequent six month period through April — are strong when the “sell in May” period — May to October — defies its bearish reputation like it did this year, according to Nordvik. The S&P 500 was up another 7.3% on average in the last two months of the year when gains from May to October exceeded 10%, going back to 1950. The S&P 500 climbed 17% in that period this year.

“The question is if the typically bearish part is bullish, is the typically bullish seasonal bearish? The answer is no,” Nordvik said. “In other words, if it’s a bull market, it just keeps running.”

Back over at Barclays, Altmann said despite the beat down among retail favorites, individual investors still have a propensity to buy dips based on his metrics. That cohort accounts for a bit over one-fifth of the market, sizable enough to force more reluctant participants to chase short-term pops.

At Wells Fargo, chief equity strategist Ohsung Kwon told clients that bearish sentiment set off a counter buying signal, falling to levels that have preceded an average three-month gain for the S&P 500 of 7.5%, with positive performance over the period 90% of the time.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• The Fight to Save the $2.7 Billion Botox Empire

• Why Build-A-Bear Has Been on an Nvidia-Like Run

• China Enforced Strict Population Controls for Decades. Encouraging Births Is Far Harder

• How an $11 Billion Beauty Company Built a Suburban Empire