AI is concentrating market gains while non-tech stocks struggle due to higher interest rates and oil prices. In September, despite the S&P 500 declining only slightly and the Nasdaq-100 rising 3%, nearly 80% of S&P stocks fell, with the average stock down 5% and only two sectors up—tech and communications services, the latter boosted by Meta and Alphabet. Smaller stocks underperformed, with the Russell 2000 down 5% while the top 50 stocks rose 2%.
Within the S&P 500, 41 of the largest 100 stocks gained versus only 10 of the smallest 100. The common thread among winners is AI and data-center supply-chain exposure. Higher Treasury yields, which rose from 4.7% to 5.3%, are pressuring the broader economy, with capital expenditure excluding AI firms running at zero, per Arend Kapteyn of UBS.
Credit stress is spreading, especially among CCC-rated borrowers, whose bond spreads surpassed April 2023 levels. Municipal, mortgage, and eurozone government bonds also saw wider spreads. Earnings expectations, which rose sharply early in the year, have flatlined since summer, per Christian Mueller-Glissmann of Goldman Sachs.
Investors now watch whether bond yields and oil prices will ease or continue to squeeze non-AI sectors.
Fuente: Wall Street Journal Markets · Resumido por HeadlinesBriefing