Roger
Business Owner, Former Assistant Research Professor
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
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
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
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
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 S&P 500 is not about to top or crash like 2008 because AI is in its early phase, not its late one. AI and robotics will lead the next 5-10 years and replace everyday and service jobs, while AI speeds innovation faster than people can keep up. It is the biggest change in a century, and the next 5-10 years will set the path for the next 100. x.comÂ
The S&P 500 rally is a concentration bet because earnings growth is coming from very few companies, while AI productivity gains are not spreading across the broader economy. Nvidia and Micron drive 34% of expected Q3 earnings growth, and ten companies account for two-thirds. Apollo's revenue-per-worker chart shows gains for the Magnificent Seven but little for the other 493 S&P 500 companies; most stocks that reflect the broader economy are down. x.com x.com 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
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
The cap-weighted S&P 500 remains exposed to tech and AI unwinding because technology still weighs more than at its 2000 peak. Its tech weight has slipped from a record 40% two weeks ago to 37.6%, but the 2000 peak was about 34%, making further unwinding most likely. x.comÂ