Novo Nordisk has officially launched Ozempic in India, marking a significant expansion of its presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for diabetes and obesity treatments.

The launch comes at a time when demand for weight-loss drugs is rising sharply, driven by lifestyle changes, urbanisation, and increasing awareness of metabolic health.

India already has the second-highest number of people with type 2 diabetes globally, after China, alongside steadily climbing obesity rates.

For Novo, the Indian rollout represents both a commercial opportunity and a strategic move to establish early scale before lower-cost competitors enter the market.

Pricing and dosage strategy

Ozempic will be sold in India in a pen format, with three dosage options of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, and 1 mg.

Each pen contains four weekly doses, aligning with the drug’s once-a-week injection schedule.

Novo Nordisk has priced the 0.25 mg dose at Rs 8,800 per month, equivalent to about $24.35 per week.

The 0.5 mg version is priced at Rs 10,170 per month, while the 1 mg dose costs Rs 11,175 monthly.

The tiered pricing structure reflects a balance between accessibility and premium positioning in a price-sensitive healthcare market.

Medical use and broader benefits

Ozempic, whose active ingredient is semaglutide, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Since then, it has become a global bestseller.

While its primary indication is glycaemic control, the drug is widely used off-label for weight loss due to its appetite-suppressing effects.

Beyond blood sugar regulation, the medication has also been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and kidney-related complications in people with diabetes.

Clinical experience indicates that patients with diabetes can experience weight loss of up to eight kilograms, highlighting benefits that extend beyond glucose management.

India as a key growth market

India’s large and growing patient base makes it a critical battleground for global drugmakers targeting metabolic diseases.

Rising disposable incomes, changing diets, and sedentary lifestyles have contributed to an increase in both diabetes and obesity prevalence.

This has created strong demand for newer, more effective treatments, particularly injectable therapies with proven outcomes.

Experts estimate that the global weight-loss drug segment could reach $150 billion in annual sales by the end of the decade, underscoring why companies like Novo are moving quickly to secure market share in high-growth regions such as India.

Competitive timing and patent horizon

According to Reuters, Novo Nordisk’s India launch follows earlier indications that the company was aiming to introduce Ozempic this month to establish a foothold ahead of domestic generic manufacturers.

That timing is significant, as semaglutide is set to go off patent in March 2026.

Once exclusivity ends, Indian drugmakers are expected to roll out cheaper versions, intensifying competition and putting pressure on pricing.

By entering the market now, Novo gains brand recognition and physician familiarity before generics arrive, potentially helping it retain a segment of patients even as alternatives become available.

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Canopy Growth stock price staged a strong comeback in the pre-market session as investors cheered the latest news on cannabis rescheduling. CGC jumped by over 35% to $1.530, pushing its market cap to over $400 million. So, will the stock’s gains hold?

Canopy Growth stock jumps amid rescheduling news

Canopy Growth is one of the biggest players in the crypto industry, where it offers brands like Tweed, Tokyo Smoke, Deep Space, Doja, and Ace Valley.  It also owns Spectrum Therapeutics, its medical cannabis brand. 

The CGC stock price is in a strong uptrend after the media reported that Donald Trump was considering rescheduling cannabis into a less dangerous drug, continuing a process that Joe Biden started.

Such a move would be highly beneficial to Canopy Growth and other companies in the industry. This explains why cannabis stocks like Tilray Brands and Green Thumb Industries are soaring. The closely-watched MSOS ETF jumped by over 30% in the premarket session. 

This is not the only time that Donald Trump has fueled gains in the cannabis industry. Mid this year, he pushed the CGC stock price to a high of $1.93 from a low of $1.02 after revealing that he was considering rescheduling marijuana. It then soared after he promoted CBD for senior citizens on Truth Social, its social media platform. 

A cannabis rescheduling would be a good thing for Canopy Growth, as it would make it easy to do business in the United States. It would also simplify how it does business and its banking operations. 

Canopy Growth business is sending mixed signals

The most recent results showed that the company’s business was sending mixed signals. Its revenue rose by 6% in the second fiscal quarter to $67 million, a sign that its demand was steady. 

Most of this growth was from the cannabis business, whose revenue rose by 12% to $51 million. Canada’s adult-use and medical cannabis revenue soared by double digits, while its international markets dropped. 

On the other hand, the Storz & Bickel revenue dropped by 10% to $16 million, which the management blamed on the growing economic uncertainties. 

There were other potential catalysts in the report. For example, the company’s balance sheet improved, with its cash and short-term investments rising to over $298 million. Its long-term debt dropped from $299 million in March to $226 million. 

However, the company’s balance sheet improvement has coincided with the soaring outstanding shares. Its shares jumped to 332 million from a low of 129 million in January. An increasing number of outstanding shares normally leads to dilution, which reduces the earnings per share.

CGC stock price technical analysis

The daily chart shows that the Canopy Growth stock price dropped from a high of $1.93 to a low of $1.02. It then rebounded to $1.40, its highest level since October. 

The rebound happened as the stock formed the highly bullish double-bottom pattern at $1.02. This is one of the most bullish patterns in technical analysis. It also formed a bullish divergence pattern. 

Therefore, the stock will likely have a strong bullish breakout as expectations of rescheduling continues. This means that the stock may hit the resistance at $1.50. 

However, the rebound may maintain its volatility as the rescheduling debate continues. A drop below the support at $1.02 will invalidate the bullish outlook.

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‘Tempus fugit, ’ as we cry out at closing time in my local Wetherspoons.

We’re already more than a quarter of the way through December and speeding at full throttle towards year-end.

Where has the time gone? The Federal Reserve has just held its last meeting of 2025 and cut interest rates by 25 basis points, as expected.

Ahead of the decision, analysts were calling for a ‘hawkish cut’, and that is pretty much what was delivered.

The FOMC’s ‘Dot Plot’ (part of the quarterly Summary of Economic Projections) had a median forecast of just one-quarter-point cut next year, probably in the first half.

But there was a great deal of dispersion across the dots.

Out of the nineteen FOMC members, one anticipates six cuts next year (that would take the Fed Funds rate down to 2.00-2.25% from current levels, well below inflation forecasts), while at the other end, three members see one rate hike.

According to the CME’s FedWatch Tool, the ‘real money’ sees one, maybe two reductions, which is pretty much in line with the Fed itself.

We now have another twelve months to go before we’ll know how accurate this prediction turns out to be.

The Fed’s current rate-cutting cycle began back in September 2024 when they surprised most people by announcing a 0.50% reduction.

This was double the forecasts, and somewhat controversial given that it came just two months before the Presidential Election.

The Fed made two further quarter-point cuts before the year-end, before going on hold until this September, blaming the possible inflationary effects of tariffs.

This drew the ire of President Trump, who felt that the US central bank had politicised monetary policy, and he may have a point.

Overall, rates were reduced by 100 basis points last year, and a further seventy-five points in 2025, for a total of 175, taking the Fed Funds rate range down to 3.50-3.75%, its lowest in over three years.

All that monetary stimulus was a pretty powerful tailwind for risk assets, which, given yesterday’s forecast, will lose a lot of its force going forward. Despite this, the FOMC vote breakdown shows little appetite for raising rates, so that’s a blessing.

The rest of the FOMC’s Summary was also quite upbeat. Members upgraded their growth outlook for next year.

They now expect GDP growth of 2.3%, up from 1.8% in September.

Inflation (as measured by Core PCE) is expected to moderate to 2.5% by the end of 2026, down from its current reading of 2.8% annualised, and below September’s prediction of 2.6%. It is still expected to hit the Fed’s 2% target in 2028.

Meanwhile, Unemployment is forecast to hold steady at 4.4%, which remains historically low.

All in all, that’s a fairly solid set of forecasts, which was enough to see risk assets rally and the US dollar fall.

In his subsequent press conference, Chair Jerome Powell said that the Fed was now in ‘wait and see’ mode, as is Mr Powell himself.

His second term as Chair ends in May, yet speculation over the identity of his successor has been swirling around since President Trump’s inauguration in January.

Mr Trump has said he has decided on his preferred candidate, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested that this could be announced before Christmas.

Kevin Hassett, the current Director of the National Economic Council, is considered the shoo-in candidate.

He’s a well-known Trump supporter and a well-known dove.

But Kevin Warsh can’t be ruled out either. He has served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and is a Republican.

He’s also a handsome chap, which may give him an edge over Mr Hassett in President Trump’s eyes. Let’s keep the Administration beautiful.

What does all this mean? Well, there’s some uncertainty creeping in over at the Fed, and evidence of growing diversity of expressed opinions.

It also feels as if the rule of the Chair won’t be quite as absolute as it has been in the past.

These aren’t bad things. It’s time that the Fed had a bit of a shake-up. But once his replacement is named, Jerome Powell’s life is going to get a lot harder.

There will effectively be two Fed Chairs for the next five months, and both will be scrutinised intensely.

Disagreements will be highlighted. And that has the potential to affect decision-making negatively.

(David Morrison is a Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation. Views are his own.)

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In Venezuela, money does not enter the economy as a steady stream. Instead, it arrives in bursts, timed to crude cargoes leaving port.

That is why a single ship seizure can feel like a national budget event. This week, the US made the shipping lane the front line again, and it put a hard spotlight on an old truth.

Venezuela’s economy still runs on oil cash, and oil cash still depends on whether a tanker can move.

The recent US – Venezuela tensions bring some economic worries, not only for Venezuela itself, but for US markets too. Investors would rather be prepared than get caught off-guard again.

An economy that runs on dollars and breaks on inflation

Venezuela’s economy shows growth that barely registers and inflation that still dominates everything.

The International Monetary Fund projects 0.5% real GDP growth for 2025 and 269.9% inflation.

These numbers describe an economy that cannot build stable purchasing power or long-term planning.

The exchange rate tells the same story in a language every Venezuelan understands.

As of mid-December 2025, the bolívar trades near 264.7 per US dollar on widely followed market trackers.

The World Food Programme’s VAM exchange rate series shows an 80.67% depreciation from October 2024 to October 2025.

In a country that imports a large share of essentials, that depreciation becomes food prices, transport costs, and pharmacy shortages.

Wages offer little protection. Switzerland’s SECO reports the statutory minimum wage remains 130 bolívares per month, with pay increasingly delivered through bonuses rather than base salary.

This matters because bonuses do not rebuild the tax base, pensions, or creditworthiness. They also do not anchor inflation expectations.

So the result is a split economy. Some transactions happen in dollars in pockets of the country, but the broader price system still reacts to the bolívar’s slide.

The social data fills in the last piece. The WFP reports that about 15% of the population, roughly 4 million people, urgently need food assistance, and around 40% face moderate to severe food insecurity.

When inflation accelerates again, this is where it shows first.

The ship seizure that turned politics into a shipping problem

The current episode is not a generic rise in tension, but rather a change in tactics.

The United States has moved from talking about pressure to physically interfering with the oil trade that funds the state.

This week, the US seized the tanker Skipper near Venezuela’s coast. Reuters reported Venezuela called the action “blatant theft.” The immediate loss is the cargo.

The larger impact is the message it sends to every ship owner, insurer, and trader involved in moving Venezuelan crude.

Washington then expanded the target list. New US sanctions have been announced, aimed at six tankers and shipping entities, along with individuals tied to the Venezuelan leadership.

The US is preparing to seize more tankers, which is the kind of signal that changes contracts and behavior before any new seizure happens.

This is where the story becomes economic. If sanctions are a legal fence, tanker seizures are a roadblock on the highway.

They increase the cost of moving oil, raise the risk of payment disruption, and force more of the trade into opaque channels that demand bigger discounts.

Oil flows still exist. Shipping data shows crude and fuel exports rose to about 921,000 barrels a day in November 2025, with roughly 80% going to China, about 150,000 barrels a day to the United States, and a smaller flow to Cuba.

That export level is high enough to fund imports, but only if the dollars arrive smoothly.

The US is now pressing the part of the system that converts barrels into cash.

Why tanker pressure hits Venezuela harder than a bad oil price week

The simplest way to understand Venezuela’s vulnerability is to follow the dollars.

Oil exports supply the hard currency that pays for imports. Imports supply the goods that keep prices from spiraling faster.

When net dollar inflow falls, the bolívar weakens, inflation rises, and real wages collapse again.

Tanker seizures and shipping sanctions damage net inflow through three mechanisms.

First, they can reduce liftings by delaying cargoes and disrupting schedules. Second, they force deeper discounts.

Buyers demand compensation for legal and operational risk. Third, they raise transaction costs. Insurance and freight prices rise when the probability of interruption rises.

Reuters has already captured this repricing in the market plumbing. It reported that contracts to ship Venezuelan crude have become more expensive, with vessel owners inserting war clauses to protect against disruption or seizure risk.

It also reported that Venezuelan crude has faced steeper discounts in Asia as sanctioned barrels compete for a limited set of buyers willing to take the risk.

A key detail often missed outside energy desks is that Venezuela’s heavy crude is operationally fragile.

It can require diluents like naphtha to blend and move. Reuters linked November’s export rise to higher diluent imports after problems at an upgrader.

If enforcement pressure complicates those inputs or raises their cost, export capacity can fall even without any damage to wells.

Then there is Chevron. The US has used licenses to allow certain flows, and investors read those licenses as a floor under Venezuela’s cash conversion.

OFAC’s Venezuela program lists Chevron-related authorizations within its general license structure, including General License 41B language.

If Washington keeps a protected lane for Chevron-linked exports while squeezing gray shipping, Venezuela’s economy shifts toward a narrower, more US-controlled cash channel.

If that lane narrows too, the downside becomes abrupt.

What is the market impact of US-Venezuela tensions?

Most global investors will not trade Venezuela directly, and that is rational.

The country is small in global GDP terms and its capital markets are thin.

The market impact comes through narrower pipes, and those pipes move prices in ways that surprise people who only watch equity indexes.

The first pipe is sanctions credibility. A speech rarely changes oil pricing for more than a day. A seized tanker changes behavior.

Traders demand wider discounts, ship owners charge more, and compliance departments tighten.

That shows up in heavy crude spreads, freight rates, and the relative performance of complex refiners versus simple refiners.

It can also lift near-term oil volatility even if global supply does not change much.

The second pipe is duration risk. Equities often shrug at a single strike or a single sanction.

They reprice when policy becomes unpredictable over months. Repeated seizures, widening designations, carve-outs, and exceptions create uncertainty that is hard to hedge.

That uncertainty can bleed into emerging market risk pricing even if Venezuela itself is not investable, because it increases the sense that US policy can swing quickly and hit cash flows elsewhere.

The third pipe is political optionality. Distressed Venezuela-linked instruments behave like options.

When the policy regime changes, prices can move violently because the starting point is already depressed.

Pressure can lift those prices if investors believe it increases the odds of a settlement, a restructuring path, or a shift in license policy.

At the same time, broad US equities can barely react because the capital involved is tiny relative to global markets.

The clean investor takeaway is that this story is not about Venezuela’s reserves.

It is about the cash mechanics of a barrel. When enforcement targets shipping, the economic shock travels faster than the headlines, because it hits the one thing Venezuela still cannot replace: dollars arriving on time.

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Broadcom stock price suffered a 5% reversal on Friday, a day after the company published strong financial results, and analysts remained optimistic about its future. AVGO dropped to $385, down from the all-time high of $412. So, it safe to buy the dip?

Broadcom published strong financial results 

Broadcom, one of the biggest companies in the world, released strong results and boosted its forward guidance.

The company said that its revenue rose by 28% to over $18 billion, with its net income hitting $8.5 billion.

Most importantly, the company’s AI business continued to boom, with its AI revenue soaring by 74%. The management believes that this segment’s growth will double to $8.2 billion in the following year, helped by its custom AI accelerators and Ethernet AI.

The ongoing boom helped the company to boost its dividend by 10% to 65 cents, and now plans to have a payout of $2.60, a record level. It will be the fifteenth consecutive year of dividend growth.

Broadcom boosted its forward guidance, with the management expecting the first quarter revenue to grow to $19.1 billion and its adjusted EBITDA being 67% of revenue.

Most importantly, the company said that it had acquired a new large customer for its custom chips and said that Anthropic was the previously unnamed $10 billion revenue customer. As a result, its backlog jumped to over $74 billion.

Analysts are bullish on AVGO stock 

Wall Street analysts are highly bullish on Broadcom and its stock. The average estimate is that the company will make $18.3 billion in the first quarter, up by 22.7% from the same period last year.

Most importantly, these analysts expect that the next annual revenue will be $86 billion in the next financial year and $114.59 billion in the next one, representing strong growth for a company that has been in the industry for years.

Wall Street analysts have upbeat estimates about the stock. In a note on Friday, a Baird analyst boosted the estimate to $420 from the previous $300, pointing to its AI business.

Another analyst from Rosenblatt Securities recently boosted the target from $400 to $440, while another one from Oppenheimer raised the estimate to $435.

Some of the other bullish analysts from companies like UBS, Bank of America, Barclays, and Mizuho have all boosted their estimates. More estimates will likely come soon now that the company has already published its earnings report.

Therefore, the Broadcom stock price is falling as investors remain concerned about the AI bubble, which was triggered by the recent Oracle earnings. In particular, investors are concerned about OpenAI, which has placed orders worth over $1 trillion.

Broadcom stock price technical analysis 

The daily timeframe chart shows that the AVGO stock price has been in a strong uptrend this year as the AI boom continued.

It jumped to a record high of $413, which is along the upper side of the ascending channel. It has also remained above the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA).

The stock has remained above the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), while the Relative Strength Index has pointed upwards.

Therefore, the most likely Broadcom stock price forecast is where it retreats to $350 and then resumes the uptrend as its growth accelerates. 

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BBVA is moving artificial intelligence from limited trials into everyday banking work by extending access to ChatGPT across almost its entire organisation.

The Spanish lender is giving more than 120,000 employees access to ChatGPT Enterprise after an internal pilot showed measurable efficiency gains, reports Bloomberg.

The expansion reflects a broader shift in the financial sector, where banks are increasingly embedding AI into core operations rather than treating it as an experimental tool.

For BBVA, the priority is improving internal productivity while strengthening long-term digital capabilities across business lines.

From pilot to daily use

The decision follows a pilot programme involving 11,000 employees across multiple teams.

BBVA said the trial showed staff were saving around three hours per week on routine tasks such as drafting documents, summarising information, and managing repetitive internal requests.

Based on these results, the bank opted to scale ChatGPT Enterprise across most of its workforce rather than restrict access to specialist or technical roles.

The move positions AI as a standard workplace tool rather than a niche productivity aid.

Cost and operational shift

Although BBVA and OpenAI did not disclose the financial terms of their agreement, typical enterprise pricing models suggest that rolling out AI tools at this scale can amount to a substantial annual expense for a global organisation.

The investment highlights how large banks are beginning to treat AI spending as part of core operating costs.

Rather than short-term trials, BBVA is aligning AI deployment with long-term efficiency, automation, and process optimisation goals.

This approach reflects growing pressure on banks to modernise workflows while managing costs and regulatory complexity.

BBVA said governance frameworks and controls will guide employee use of ChatGPT, ensuring responsible adoption across regulated banking environments globally.

Internal AI capabilities

The ChatGPT rollout builds on BBVA’s existing AI infrastructure. The bank employs more than 1,000 scientists who design and run AI models, supported by around 2,500 data specialists.

These teams already apply AI across areas such as risk management, fraud detection, and customer analytics.

ChatGPT is designed to complement this in-house expertise by providing a general-purpose AI tool that can be used across departments, including technology, corporate functions, and retail banking operations.

The aim is to reduce friction between specialist AI teams and everyday business users.

Customer tools and agentic AI

BBVA is also extending its AI ambitions to customer-facing services.

Its digital financial assistant, Blue, is currently live in Spain and Mexico and can handle around 150 customer queries.

These include everyday account-related questions and service interactions.

The bank is now working to expand the assistant’s capabilities so it can carry out transactions independently.

This type of functionality, often described as agentic AI, would allow systems to act on a user’s behalf within set rules, potentially reshaping digital banking experiences.

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Russian seaborne oil product exports dipped slightly in November, falling 0.8% from October to 7.494 million metric tons, according to industry data and Reuters calculations. 

This decrease occurred as the effects of drone attacks on key energy infrastructure were largely counterbalanced by the completion of maintenance work at several refineries.

Despite the small change in overall volumes, the amount of flow through specific ports fluctuated.

This variation was influenced by factors such as drone attacks and the renewed operation of several refineries.

Baltic ports fuel export surge

Fuel exports from Russian ports in the Baltic Sea–including key terminals such as Primorsk, Vysotsk, St. Petersburg, and Ust-Luga–experienced a significant surge, rising by an impressive 20.6% month over month. 

The total volume of fuel shipped from these crucial logistical hubs reached 4.697 million tons. 

This notable increase in export volume underscores the ongoing activity and strategic importance of the Baltic ports in Russia’s energy trade, particularly in the context of global market dynamics and supply chain shifts. 

The data confirming this substantial rise was compiled and released based on information sourced directly from industry experts and shipping data providers. 

This upward trend suggests a heightened operational tempo at these ports, potentially in response to strong international demand or shifts in export routes and schedules.

The increase in shipments was primarily due to higher loadings from the ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, according to market sources quoted in the Reuters report.

Novatek’s Ust-Luga complex restored

The Russian energy giant Novatek, whose stock is actively traded, successfully brought its vital gas condensate processing and transhipment complex in Ust-Luga back to full operational capacity last month. 

This restoration followed extensive repair work necessitated by damage sustained during a series of drone attacks in August. 

The facility, located on the Baltic Sea near the border with Estonia, is a cornerstone of Novatek’s logistics chain, processing stable gas condensate into valuable petroleum products like jet fuel, naphtha, and gasoil for export to international markets.

The August attacks, which Novatek officially reported as having caused some localised damage to auxiliary equipment, temporarily disrupted operations, forcing the company to initiate immediate repairs. 

While Novatek is known for its resilience and robust operational procedures, the incident underscored the growing risk posed by drone warfare to critical energy infrastructure. 

The complex is now once again operating at maximum efficiency, ensuring the continuous flow of processed hydrocarbons from Russia’s massive natural gas fields to world markets.

Drastic decline in southern route exports

In stark contrast, fuel exports via the southern routes saw a drastic decline.

Exports of oil products through Black Sea and Azov Sea ports decreased by 30.2% to 2.062 million tons.

This drop was attributed to damage caused by drone attacks, according to the data and calculations in the report.

Following drone attacks in November, Russia’s Tuapse port on the Black Sea temporarily halted fuel exports, and its local oil refinery stopped crude processing. Oil product loadings resumed two weeks later.

In November, the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk also came under attack by drones.

Exports of oil products from the Arctic ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk increased by 80% in November, reaching 57,400 tons, up from 32,900 tons in October.

Loadings of fuel exports at Russia’s Far East ports increased by 1.2% from October, reaching 677,800 tons, according to data from industry sources.

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US equities are set to reach fresh record highs next year, supported by stronger corporate earnings, broadening artificial intelligence adoption, and resilient economic growth, according to Goldman Sachs strategists.

The outlook adds to a growing consensus among major financial institutions that the ongoing market rally still has room to run.

AI-driven productivity expected to boost corporate earnings

Analysts at Goldman Sachs, led by Ben Snider, forecast earnings per share for S&P 500 companies to rise 12% in 2026, followed by another 10% increase in 2027.

A portion of that expansion will come from productivity improvements tied directly to AI.

The strategists estimate that artificial intelligence will contribute roughly 0.4% to earnings growth in 2026 and 1.5% the following year.

Snider noted that enterprise adoption of AI remains at an early stage, with larger companies currently making more visible progress than smaller firms.

Alongside AI-related gains, he cited “healthy nominal top-line growth, a fading drag from tariffs, and continued earnings strength for the largest stocks in the index” as key factors that will support profitability.

Snider, who will take over as Goldman’s chief US equity strategist at year-end, reaffirmed his target for the S&P 500 to reach 7,600 points in 2026.

That implies an increase of about 10% from current levels and suggests Wall Street’s largest benchmark may extend its run of record highs.

Broader market optimism builds across Wall Street

Goldman Sachs is not alone in its upbeat expectations.

Strategists at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and RBC Capital Markets have all projected double-digit gains for US equities next year, citing a combination of economic resilience, earnings expansion, and persistent investor appetite for risk assets.

Market participants appear to share that outlook.

An informal Bloomberg survey found that global money managers expect the stock rally to continue, supported by improving confidence in the economic environment.

The S&P 500 recently closed at a record high, underscoring the strength of the current market momentum.

However, the optimism is not without caution.

Some asset managers warn that the massive capital being deployed into AI infrastructure and capabilities could be inflating valuations in tech-heavy segments of the market.

Concerns about a potential bubble have grown as mega-cap technology companies continue to outpace the broader index.

Mega-cap tech expected to drive profit growth again

Goldman’s Snider said the largest companies in the S&P 500 — including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Broadcom, and Meta — will remain critical engines of overall earnings growth next year.

He expects these firms to contribute roughly 46% of the index’s total profit expansion in 2026, only slightly below their outsized influence this year.

Analysts tracked by Bloomberg Intelligence forecast that net income for S&P 500 companies will rise 14% in 2026, fueled by an anticipated 18% profit increase among the so-called Magnificent Seven.

Their continued dominance reinforces the extent to which US equity performance remains concentrated among a handful of technology giants that are aggressively deploying AI to extend competitive advantages.

As Wall Street heads into 2026, the path of US stocks appears increasingly tied to the pace of AI adoption, the durability of mega-cap earnings, and investors’ confidence in the economic backdrop.

For now, Goldman Sachs and other major forecasters see those forces aligning in favor of another strong year for equities.

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