When it comes to global markets in 2026, artificial intelligence (AI) giveth, and AI taketh away. This is a key takeaway in recent mid-year market commentary by Morningstar Indexes Strategist Dan Lefkovitz.
There is no better illustration of the immense influence AI is having on the market these days than the Morningstar Global Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Index. The index is designed to provide thematically pure exposure to companies involved in generative AI and adjacent products and services by tapping into the forward-looking insights of Morningstar’s global equity research team. After dropping nearly 9% in a tumultuous first quarter for AI-related stocks, the Index rose more than 35% in the second quarter despite a June selloff.
As AI-related capital spending feeds a massive infrastructure buildout, a new crop of tech leaders has emerged, with chipmakers Broadcom, AVGO, and Micron Technology, MU, entering the US stock market’s top 10, and disk drive companies Seagate Technology, STX, and Western Digital, WDC, seeing triple-digit share price appreciation. The AI boom is evident in private markets, with model makers OpenAI and Anthropic on deck to IPO in the wake of SpaceX.
Dan Lefkovitz, Morningstar Indexes strategist, said:
“Ultimately, the future of AI is unknown and unknowable. What’s clear is that the US stock market has become increasingly dependent on AI and concentrated in the technology sector. June volatility demonstrates market vulnerabilities. For long-term investors, a healthy amount of portfolio diversification is warranted.”
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