By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - Managers of equity long/short funds cut their net exposure in September, a month during which markets pulled back on a rising dollar and questions over the timing of the Federal Reserve's next rate hike, Credit Suisse wrote in a note.
The declines came across regions and sectors, though there was an emphasis in cyclical sectors.
"These reductions in longs and adds to shorts brought the long-short ratio to a [year-to-date] low of 43 percent as returns and the European growth outlook both wane," the firm said in the note published late Wednesday.
Short hedge funds returned an average of 5.9 percent through September, Credit Suisse wrote, on pace for 490 basis points of outperformance compared to the S&P 500, "the highest since at least January 2013."
Futures snapshot at 0825 EDT:
* S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.5 points, or 0.13 percent, with 207,837 contracts changing hands.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were gaining 5.5 points, or 0.14 percent, in volume of 34,374 contracts.
* Dow e-minis were up 6 points, or 0.04 percent, with 27,589 contracts changing hands.
(Editing by Bernadette Baum)