Why ChatGPT could spark a new bull market
Welcome back, readers. Phil Rosen here, still poking around OpenAI's new ChatGPT iPhone app.
The web version garnered 100 million users in its first two months, but the app — easier and more intuitive to use — now opens it up to a whole new market of smartphone users.
But the AI hype on Wall Street goes far beyond your next favorite distraction.
Let's dive in.
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1. The rise of ChatGPT and subsequent AI boom could solidify the recent strength in stocks as a new bull market, according to market veteran Ed Yardeni.
In a recent note, the strategist said equities' strong start to the year isn't just a bear market rally, but that it indeed marks a new bull regime.
In particular, he pointed to the large language models like ChatGPT as reason to anticipate a spike in productivity, and something that could improve how people lead their lives.
That could mean financial worries like bank woes and the debt ceiling could melt away amid the AI hype.
"This may be the event that launches the Roaring 2020s," Yardeni said. "If so, then we can spend a lot less time obsessing about what the Fed will do next and focus on how technology is boosting productivity and the standard of living throughout the economy."
He's not just sounding off in a vacuum. Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones said AI could push stocks toward 15% annualized gains for the years ahead, and Goldman Sachs said the tech could raise global GDP by a jarring 7%.
"Generative AI," Goldman analysts said, "can streamline business workflows, automate routine tasks and give rise to a new generation of business applications."
And yet — Bank of America just said Friday that AI is in a "baby bubble" right now, and it could pop if the Fed opts to pause interest rates.
BofA's Michael Hartnett said bubbles — whether they are the "right things" like the internet, or the wrong things like housing — always begin with easy money and end with rate hikes.
If the Fed mistakenly pauses and then resumes hiking as inflation persists, the music could stop for high flying AI stocks.
Markets think there is an 80% chance the central bank pauses rate hikes at its June meeting.
Have you used ChatGPT? What about the new app version? Tweet me (@philrosenn) or email me (prosen@insider.com) to let me know.
In other news:
2. US stock futures edge lower early Monday, as investors await the outcome of President Joe Biden's meeting today with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the debt ceiling. Check out the latest market moves.
3. Earnings on deck: Zoom, Ryanair, and HEICO, all reporting.
4. Meet the fund manager who's beaten 99% of his peers over five years. He broke down his outside-the-box approach — and the six ways he's investing now.
5. "Big Short" investor Michael Burry initiated 17 new stock positions in the first quarter. He's expressed a bearish tone toward equities over recent months through his cryptic tweets. Here are the top 10 stocks held by the famed money manager.
6. A downbeat economy has left truck drivers facing a slowdown that could get worse than 2008. Trucking rates are falling as low as $1.49 per mile, less than half the rate during the boom of 2021, according to FreightWaves. Full details.
7. Mega-cap tech stocks are "overbought" and their rally could stall out soon. Fundstrat's Mark Newton said even though there's no evidence these names have peaked, pressure is mounting in the sector. Still, investors remain optimistic on tech largely thanks to AI.
8. This 26-year-old developer's firm owns 40 acres of land in Richmond. He said he's betting on the capital of Virginia for huge upside. Here's why he would personally invest in the area's real estate.
9. A UBS stock chief shared how he's balancing investments in both safe and economy-dependent sectors. With his strategy, he's aiming to maximize outperformance in the event of a recession. Read more.
10. Larry McDonald warned that the S&P 500 could crash 30% by December. The financial markets pro and founder of "The Bear Traps Report" predicted that profits are going to shrink and banking problems will continue to reveal themselves as the year goes on. Dig into the numbers behind his outlook.
Curated by Phil Rosen in New York. Feedback or tips? Tweet @philrosenn or email prosen@insider.com.
Edited by Max Adams (@maxradams) in New York and Hallam Bullock (@hallam_bullock) in London.