AI disruption on investors' radar

US stock investors will be on guard this week for further volatility induced by fears of artificial intelligence disruption as they also assess the durability of a rotation beneath the market's surface, along with upcoming earnings from Walmart and fresh economic data.

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Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, Feb 13, 2026.REUTERS

(REUTERS)

The benchmark S&P 500 may be down only 0.2% for the year, but that modest change belies significant swings in pockets of the market. After sinking shares of software companies this month, fears that new AI tools will disrupt various industries — including insurance, wealth management and transport — slammed stocks last week.

"It's all this whack-a-mole game of trying to figure out what AI is going to destroy next in a world where you can invent a narrative, because this technology is so new that artificial intelligence is likely going to end up eating the whole world," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth in Los Angeles.

"That's probably not the case, but that's where we are right now in that sentiment."