AI productivity and agents mean fewer jobs, less spending and lower future tax revenue while concentrated US equities reach all-time highs. That recession risk is not priced in. x.comÂ
Samantha LaDuc
Founder & Strategist of LaDucTrading, Cross-Asset Analysis
Warmer CPI pulls rate hikes forward, adding to the pressure on US equities from a higher dollar, yields and oil. The energy shock is spreading, wages are not keeping up, and spending should continue to soften. An S&P 500 target of 8200 this year remains contingent on a falling dollar and earnings not disappointing. x.com 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
Expensive borrowing makes debt-funded AI projects harder to justify, pressuring AI stocks and the S&P 500. Inflation keeps pressure on rates. If Republicans lose Congress after the midterms, Trump could rely on executive action to speed permits, power projects and existing funding programs, keeping AI investment moving despite expensive money. Tech and risk assets could catch a bid if earnings hold and bond yields settle; Fed cuts remain uncertain. x.comÂ
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
AI concentration leaves the S&P 500 vulnerable to an index-level crash in a recession. An estimated 60% of its market cap is directly tied to AI through chips, data centers and hardware; institutional S&P 500 short bets have doubled since 2025. x.com x.com 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
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 S&P 500's concentrated, correlated AI exposure makes a large allocation too risky as rates rise. Higher rates could force data-center bondholders to sell AI equities; early AI use appears to be stagnating and unclear ROI may cap demand even if usage grows linearly. Failed lab IPOs or a credit-driven recession could also undermine the market. AI moving on-device or on-premise is another significant risk to data-center capacity demand. x.com 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
S&P 500 earnings look flattered by AI spending: hundreds of billions in AI capex become immediate revenue for sellers of chips, servers and cloud capacity, while buyers amortize the cost over years. Revenue explodes now and the pain shows up later, so Wall Street raises estimates and stocks get even more expensive. That looks worryingly like a dot-com 2.0, and the risk is what happens when AI spending slows or stops. x.comÂ