MarketWatch (August 10)
“The S&P 500’s earnings story is getting stronger and broader, and that’s good news for the stock market — particularly for shares of industrial, financial and technology firms.” With earnings already reported by 80% of S&P 500 constituents, “it is safe to say that this earnings season is on track to be a blowout.” What’s more, “nontech companies are leading tech with a higher margin of earnings outperformance relative to expectations. Nontech companies have topped estimates by about 10%,” while the Magnificent Seven and other tech companies are averaging a 4% beat rate.
Tags: Blowout, Broader, Earnings, Expectations, Financial, Industrial, Nontech, Outperformance, S&P 500, Shares, Stock market, Stronger, Technology
Motley Fool (August 2)
“While earnings season has been a mixed bag, with investors punishing companies spending exorbitantly on their artificial intelligence data center build-outs, it was the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) decision to leave interest rates unchanged that roiled the iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average, benchmark S&P 500, and technology-powered Nasdaq Composite. The Dow’s greater-than 1,100-point loss on July 29 was its worst single-day performance in over a year.”
Tags: AI, Companies, Dow, Earnings season, FOMC, Interest rates, Investors, Mixed bag, Nasdaq Composite, Punishing, Roiled, S&P 500, Spending. Data center build-outs
Fortune (July 5)
“In a note on Tuesday” Bank of America “analysts reaffirmed their year-end price target of 7,100 for the broad market index, representing a 5% drop from the week’s closing level.” Citing “extreme levels” of speculation, BoA believes the market is poised for a “snapback,” also noting “that S&P 500 companies are generating less free cash flow relative to net income compared to historical trends. That’s as so-called hyperscalers have seen their free cash flow plunge due to massive spending on the AI boom, eroding their earnings.”
Tags: AI boom, Analysts, BoA, Broad market, Earnings, FCF, Historical trends, Hyperscalers, Index, Net income, Note, Price target, S&P 500, Snapback, Speculation, Spending
Fortune (March 2)
“S&P 500 futures were down 1.22% this morning as part of a broad global selloff in the stock markets triggered by the conflict between Iran and the U.S. and Israel.” Uncertainty prevails amid efforts to assess the likely severity of the conflict, which “could be serious enough to push oil over $100 per barrel.” For now, investors have “entered a worldwide ‘risk-off’ phase.”
Tags: $100 bbl, Conflict, Futures, Global selloff, Investors, Iran, Israel, of Oil, S&P 500, Severity, Stock markets, U.S., Uncertainty
New York Times (January 9)
“Saudi Arabia is throwing open its doors to global investors.” From February, all overseas investors “will be allowed to buy and sell shares directly in 262 listed companies.” The question is whether they will want to. “The Tadawul All Share Index is down over the past year, vastly underperforming both the S&P 500 and major global stock indexes.” It is “the Gulf region’s biggest and worst-performing stock exchange,”
Tags: Buy, Global investors, Gulf region, Index, Overseas investors, S&P 500, Saudi Arabia, Sell, Shares, Stock exchange, Tadawul, Underperforming, Worst-performing
Barron’s (January 2)
“If last year was full of fireworks that ultimately resulted in another big gain for the stock market, 2026 appears set to be a dud. Looking back at 2025, the fact that the S&P 500 index gained 16% feels like a small miracle. The Donald Trump experience has led to wild swings—who can forget the near bear-market in April after the president announced the first iteration of tariffs?” Looking ahead, “we’d expect a relatively flat year, with the S&P 500 finishing down about 2%.”
Tags: 16%, 2%, 2025, 2026, April, Bear market, Big gain, Dud, Fireworks, Flat, S&P 500, Stock market, Tariffs, Trump
Bloomberg (December 12)
“AI is powering Trump’s economy, but American voters are getting worried.” The Wall Street consensus is “that AI has driven most of the gains on the S&P 500 this year” so that may make AI look like a hero. Among voters, however, there are “signs of an AI backlash, one that could amplify concerns about the cost of living and the job-market outlook in Trump’s economy.” Data center projects are increasingly being “blocked or delayed by local opposition” and roughly $98 billion in investment was “stymied in the second quarter, more than the total for all previous quarters since 2023.”
Tags: AI, Backlash, Blocked, Consensus, Cost of living, Data centers, Delayed, Economy, Gains, Investment, Job market, Opposition, Outlook, S&P 500, Trump, Voters, Wall Street, Worried
Fortune (December 11)
“For all the volatility 2025 has endured, things have actually turned out relatively well: The S&P 500 is up by more than 17%, inflation hasn’t spiked despite an onslaught of tariffs, and the unemployment rate has stayed fairly steady. Analysts and investors are generally feeling positive about 2026 as a result.” This may be overlooking signs of weakness. “Beneath the relatively robust macroeconomic picture, cracks are beginning to show.”
Tags: 17%, 2025, 2026, Analysts, Endured, Inflation, Investors, Macroeconomic, Overlooking, Positive, S&P 500, Steady, Tariffs, Unemployment, Volatility, Weakness
Wall Street Journal (November 23)
“Fear of bursting investment bubbles. Concern the economy is slowing. Pressure on investors to cash in profits. These forces are colliding in markets, leading to the sharpest intraday swings for stocks in months and leaving investors bracing for more.” Already, the S&P 500 is down 3.5% in November.” Not to be outdone, the “Nasdaq composite has slid more than 6%” during the same period.”
Tags: Bubbles, Bursting, Cash, Colliding, Concern, Economy, Fear, Intraday swings, Investment, Investors, Markets, Nasdaq, November, Pressure, Profits, S&P 500, Stocks
Reuters (November 4)
“Fears of a market bubble come as the benchmark S&P 500 continues its meteoric climb, repeatedly hitting record highs and evoking memories of the dot-com boom.” And on Tuesday, the chief executives of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs warned that “global equity markets could be heading towards a correction, underscoring a growing concern that investor optimism has driven valuations to sky-high levels.”
Tags: Boom, Concern, Correction, Dot-com, Equity markets, Executives, Fears, Goldman Sachs, Investor optimism, Market bubble, Meteoric, Morgan Stanley, Record highs, S&P 500, Valuations
