Goldman Sachs' latest prime services weekly report shows that the gross exposure of hedge funds – the combined sum of their long and short positions – hit its highest level in a year last week, indicating that they are increasingly using leverage in their stock market wagers, according to a report by Reuters.

Gross exposure reached 241% of assets for the week ending 2 March, an increase of 2.5 percentage points. Net exposure though, the value of long bets minus short bets, is currently close to a year-long low of 66%, according to the report, showing that managers have little bias over market direction.

This more market neutral approach comes as investors continue to deal with increased macroeconomic uncertainties and the possibility of a recession. On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said the ongoing fight to tame inflation means that interest rates rises could exceed current investor expectations.