A version of the S&P 500 without AI briefly pulled ahead of the traditional index this year and is now neck-and-neck as investors rotate into other areas of the market.
A proprietary Goldman Sachs index tracking the S&P 500 without stocks classified as "AI enablers" was up 12.4% through Oct. 22, edging ahead of the standard S&P 500's 12% gain. The Goldman index is now neck-and-neck with the S&P 500 as tech rallied in Monday trading.
Tech and AI-related companies make up about 45% of the S&P 500. That heavy weighting has helped power the index for years, but it's turned into a liability lately; the S&P 500 tech sector is down about 7% this month while other sectors have held up.
Investors have soured on debt and equity issued by companies like CoreWeave and Oracle. Shares of Meta Platforms sank almost 7% Thursday after it outlined more plans to spend heavily on capex and issue additional shares.
Companies supplying power and equipment for the buildout have been hit hard — names like GE Vernova, Bloom Energy, Vistra and Quanta Services all suffered steep declines during the recent selloff.