AI-related stocks have been at the heart of equity market gains this ​year, helping drive the bull market near to its fourth year. Despite this week's stumble, the benchmark S&P 500 is still up over 8% in 2026, while the market "feels very frothy," said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group. Meanwhile, the Fed meeting comes as oil prices have shot up due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. "He's really not showing the Fed's cards," said Paul Nolte, senior ​wealth ​advisor and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management. Fed funds futures are factoring in two quarter-point rate hikes by the January 2027 meeting.