KEY POINTS:
- S&P 500 futures keep calm.
- Markets cheer soft inflation.
- AI wave stays main theme.
Despite a Friday drop, the broad-based index yanked out a 1.6% increase on the week, supported by positive economic data.
- The S&P 500 is looking to open flat for Monday trading after logging a winning week thanks largely to a cooling inflation number. The broad-based Wall Street favorite advanced 1.6% on the week despite closing Friday’s session at a mild loss and snapping a four-day record-setting rally with each day marked by a new record. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, rode it all the way through five straight closing record highs last week.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is the laggard of the group of three as it closed out the week in the red. Investors aren’t too excited to hold real-economy stocks such as banks and airlines. All the action is concentrated in a few select technology stocks, powered by the solid belief that artificial intelligence will rewire the way we live and work. To that end, the Big Tech realm has ascended to the upper echelon of the stock market.
- The formidable rise of Nvidia NVDA is buoying shares across the board while rivals are desperately trying to play catch up with their own response to the sweeping AI move. Apple AAPL, for one, just came out with its own version of AI — Apple Intelligence. Apparently, the theme remains the same: AI, and then more AI. Presently, the six biggest companies in the S&P 500 make up nearly 30% of its weight. How big can the AI bubble get?