S&P 500 futures were down 0.32% this morning prior to the opening bell in New York, after the index fell 0.54% yesterday, suggesting that investors hate U.S. equities right now.
The index is up 0.93% year-to-date, a feeble performance compared to foreign stocks. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is up nearly 10% over the same period. The STOXX Europe 600 is up 6.53% and sits at an all-time high. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is up nearly 14%. South Korea’s KOSPI is up an astonishing 45%.
Growth is everywhere, except the U.S.
Why?
“AI derangement syndrome,” according to an email sent by Yardeni Research to its clients.
But no good deed goes unpunished in the S&P 500, and Nvidia’s stock fell 5.46% yesterday. It is down 0.86% year-to-date. “Out of 13 total quarterly reports, [Nvidia] has reported ten triple plays (beat earnings per share, beat sales, raised guidance). In its first six earnings reports following the release of ChatGPT, NVDA shares averaged a one-day gain of +10% on its earnings reaction day. Following its last seven reports, though, shares have averaged a decline of -3%,” Bespoke Investment Group said. (Bespoke tracks a custom “AI Doom basket” of stocks, which gives you an idea of how negatively AI is viewed by traders right now.)
AI is now regarded as a liability, not a benefit, according to some analysts. “If AI continues to disrupt, if not destroy, more and more business models, won’t that cause a recession?” asked Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research in his recent email.
“‘AI’ was mentioned 348 times this quarter. As shown below, that’s down quite a bit from the 401 ‘AI’ mentions last quarter, and it’s 102 fewer than peak ‘AI’ reached during the Q1 2025 earnings season,” the group said.
Here’s a snapshot of the markets this morning prior to the opening bell in New York:
