Business · Markets · 2 hrs ago
Dow and S&P 500 rise as investors move from AI stocks to healthcare
US stocks ended higher on Thursday after the Dow and S&P 500 recovered from early losses.
Investors shifted money from some AI-related technology shares into healthcare and consumer companies, including Eli Lilly, UnitedHealth and Walmart.
The Dow rose 1.08% and the S&P 500 gained 0.32%, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.07%.
Some investors worry that AI companies with large debts could be hurt by higher borrowing costs, and chip stocks fell for a seventh straight session.
Rising inflation is adding to rate concerns: US producer prices rose sharply in September, and traders increased their bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike in December.
The shift shows investors are questioning AI-driven gains, though the S&P 500 remained about 13% higher for 2026, with most of that rise linked to AI stocks.
The Dow and S&P 500 ended higher on Thursday after recovering from early losses.
Investors shifted away from some AI-related stocks and into healthcare and consumer companies.
Eli Lilly, UnitedHealth and Walmart rallied after Deutsche Bank upgraded their ratings.
Technology shares fell as investors weighed AI companies’ debt exposure to higher interest rates.
Producer prices rose by the most in 4-1/2 years in September, while markets increased the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike.
- Who
- US investors and traders shifted between stocks.
- What
- The Dow and S&P 500 rose as investors moved from some AI stocks to healthcare and consumer stocks.
- When
- Thursday, October 15, 2026.
- Where
- US stock markets.
- Why
- Investors were concerned about AI-related companies’ debt exposure to higher interest rates and inflation.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Hotter-than-expected consumer inflation data fueled expectations of further US Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes and contributed to a Wall Street selloff.
US producer prices rose by the most in 4-1/2 years in September, according to data released that day.
The Dow and S&P 500 recovered from early losses and ended higher as investors shifted toward healthcare and consumer stocks.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average
- Rose 559.45 points, or 1.08%, to 52,180.93
- S&P 500
- Gained 24.94 points, or 0.32%, to 7,744.07
- Nasdaq Composite
- Gained 18.37 points, or 0.07%, to 26,711.24
- Healthcare and consumer stocks
- Eli Lilly, UnitedHealth and Walmart rallied after Deutsche Bank rating upgrades
- Federal Reserve rate expectations
- Traders priced in a 67% chance of a rate increase by the December policy meeting, up from 62% on Wednesday
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What people are saying
The cost to finance everything, whether it be a new single-family house or a giant data center, is going up, and that has implications for lots of stuff in the stock market
The best performing stocks today are the non-cyclical, defensive businesses
You've got a little rotation going on in the bigger names, but we've seen this before. It seems this crops up every couple of months and we have the AI concerns