Staudinger
PhD Engineer, Former MIT Research Fellow, Space & Emerging-Tech Investor
Far less inflated valuations and significant AI earnings make US equities unlike the dot-com market top. AI/SI spending may still be overexuberant. Rates and yields have returned to historical averages; more oil through the Strait of Hormuz and from OPEC and Russia should lower oil and inflation. The market may not have bottomed yet, but falling yields, steady rates and the midterms passing should let it climb the wall of worry. x.com x.com x.comÂ
The widening gap between equal- and cap-weighted S&P 500 performance makes the equal-weighted index overdue for a major rally to new highs. Per The Kobeissi Letter, their 52-week correlation is at a record-low 0.67. Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile should rise with it. More oil through the Strait of Hormuz and elevated OPEC, Russian and US output should lower oil prices; falling oil and yields should lower inflation, with no October Fed hike expected. x.com x.comÂ
US stocks should find support in October as escorted Gulf oil shipments ease oil-driven pressure on yields while AI fundamentals stay strong. Tankers crossing Hormuz under US escort have restored at least 60% of prewar crude flows, weakening oil's upside. At 5.33%, 10-year yields may stabilize; per Bloomberg data, yields would need to hit about 6% to erase a year of bond returns. Q3 cloud earnings should be very strong, and if yields settle, gains could spread to banks and small caps. x.com … Show more
Living costs in a stage 4 decline will take over from AI as the driver of the US equity bull market. AI drove it since 2023, but its capital spending and debt loads are in question; falling food prices, rents and housing prices make a bearish view hard to justify. x.com x.comÂ
US stocks face a potentially bigger selloff as rising inflation compounds concerns about AI spending. PCE inflation reached a four-month high of 3.6%, increasing pressure on the Fed to raise rates; Alphabet shares fell after disappointing earnings, slowing ad growth and more than $51 billion of quarterly capital investment. x.comÂ
The Iran war, rising oil prices and inflationary pressure do not yet look severe enough to trigger a major economic crisis. Despite some deterioration in the macro picture and short-term volatility, the broader picture remains relatively healthy and the long-term outlook for US large-cap and Nasdaq 100 stocks is very positive. x.comÂ
US stocks benefit when rates rise with growth because earnings outpace the drag from higher discount rates. Such periods have historically been very bullish, unlike inflation-led rate rises amid slowing growth. Since fall 2025 the 10-year yield rose from 4.1% to 5.1% while nominal GDP growth accelerated to 6.6%, faster than rates. Being long offers better risk/reward; high oil prices due to the war are the remaining inflation pressure, and an end to the war would improve the setup further. x.comÂ
Uncertain AI-capex profits and higher oil costs from Iran still threaten US stocks. The SPCX-Nvidia deal brought much-needed overnight inflows to chips and is shifting sentiment, but tech's waterfall decline will not heal with a sharp V-bottom. Be prepared for a big fade. x.comÂ
US large-cap equities look near a bottom because hedge-fund positioning suggests forced selling is in its final innings, not economic deleveraging. By many measures this is one of the largest hedge-fund equity deleveraging events in 30 years; AI positions built over 18 months are being unwound in 75 days. Yet profits are growing about 20% year over year, AI compute demand exceeds supply, and the S&P 500 has barely moved. Contagion has reached credit, multistrats and European bonds. x.comÂ
Potential spending cuts and AI-related deflation make long-dated US Treasuries an asymmetric opportunity. A Democratic sweep could cut spending; an AI-trade blowup could cause deflation, while the AI trade hurts employment. Ending the Iran war could reduce spending and oil prices. Further crude gains could damage the economy hard and quickly enough to outweigh the inflation threat. x.com x.comÂ
Rising inflation, costlier AI infrastructure financing and growing Iran escalation risk point to the final major S&P 500 correction before the biggest phase of the AI boom. The index is near its 125-day average; its last break below in March was followed by another 10% drop. Keep cash ready: the next sell-off will create generational buying opportunities as neoclouds and hyperscalers turn infrastructure spending into explosive revenue and earnings growth. x.comÂ
Demand for compute remains strong and the AI investment cycle is still running, so the underlying AI opportunity has not changed. But if wars keep inflation high and rates stay higher for longer, even great businesses will see their multiples compressed, damaging the AI trade without necessarily invalidating it. The S&P 500 forward P/E has fallen from 23.2x to 18.7x, a roughly 5.35% earnings yield versus 5.47% on the 20-year Treasury; how long this backdrop lasts is unknowable. x.comÂ
