
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Stocks gained Wednesday thanks in part to another artificial intelligence-powered lift, as optimism emanating from the nascent technology keeps driving equities higher against a suboptimal macroeconomic backdrop.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&amp;P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq each rose 1.2% or more Wednesday, just the third time that happened since the beginning of April.</p>



<p>Yet again driving the gains were tech heavyweights, as Tesla (up 4.4%), Nvidia (3.4%), Amazon 1.8%), Meta (1.5%), Alphabet (1.3%), Microsoft (0.9%) and Apple (0.3%) spiked, tacking on a combined $123 billion in market capitalization Wednesday.</p>



<p>Those giants, which have rallied more than $1 trillion year-to-date collectively thanks in large part to the AI boom, offered more fuel for optimistic investors Wednesday, with Amazon&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-17/amazon-unveils-new-alexa-gadgets-as-chatgpt-rivalry-heats-up" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announcing</a>&nbsp;AI enhancements to its Alexa devices and Nvidia&nbsp;<a href="https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/servicenow-and-nvidia-announce-partnership-to-build-generative-ai-across-enterprise-it" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unveiling</a>&nbsp;a new partnership with ServiceNow to expand generative AI in cloud computing.</p>



<p>Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen declared Tuesday he has a “pretty bullish” outlook on the market as a whole thanks to streamlined corporate efficiency from AI,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-17/steve-cohen-says-he-s-pretty-bullish-on-markets-thanks-to-ai?srnd=premium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to Bloomberg.</p>



<p>“I’m making a prognostication: We’re going up,” Cohen said about broad equity prices, explaining increased automation should widen corporate profits in coming quarters.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">CONTRA</h2>



<p>The S&amp;P is up 9% year-to-date and excitement about what AI could mean for investors is at a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/01/ai-is-the-new-electricity-bank-of-america-picks-20-stocks-to-cash-in-on-chatgpt-hype/?sh=55bfdf2a77ac">fever pitch</a>, but stocks will encounter a “rocky road” later this year, Wells Fargo strategist Scott Wren wrote in a Wednesday note to clients. Wren explained the strong likelihood of the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/04/12/fed-officials-now-expect-us-will-enter-mild-recession-this-year-after-banking-crisis-rattles-markets/?sh=5433b921107c">slipping into</a>&nbsp;a recession and his expectation that companies will fail to deliver on profit expectations thanks to thinner margins as interest rates remain high. Earnings for S&amp;P companies declined by 6.8% year-over-year in the most recent quarter, according to recent Morgan Stanley research.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Tesla, which hosted its annual meeting with shareholders after Tuesday’s market close, posted its second-largest daily stock gain since March, tacking on $25 billion in market value after it said it will advertise its vehicle for the first time and its CEO Elon Musk vowed to remain in charge for the foreseeable future. Musk, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/05/16/elon-musks-attack-on-george-soros-distressing-and-dangerous-jewish-group-says/?sh=7ad31cc130ba">drew the ire</a>&nbsp;of several Jewish civil rights groups this week for touting conspiracies mirroring antisemitic tropes about billionaire George Soros, added the most to his net worth of anybody on earth Wednesday with a $5 billion bump.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forbes-valuations">FORBES VALUATIONS</h2>



<p>Musk holds the second-largest fortune in the world at $181 billion, while Cohen is owner of the planet’s 93rd-largest wealth pile at $17.5 billion. Cohen chairs Point72 Asset Management and owns the New York Mets MLB team.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Since the late 2022 launch of the Microsoft-subsidized ChatGPT generative AI product, AI fever has infected Wall Street; Bank of America strategists dubbed AI the “new electricity” in a March note, projecting it to create massive gains for stocks. A slew of technology companies have revealed their own AI services, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2023/04/29/this-stock-market-indicator-is-the-weakest-its-ever-been-and-other-warning-signs-are-flaring/?sh=162f37947b4c">benefitting the most</a>&nbsp;are mega-cap tech stocks like Nvidia, Meta, Alphabet and Amazon, four of the 20 best-performing stocks on the S&amp;P year-to-date.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/01/ai-is-the-new-electricity-bank-of-america-picks-20-stocks-to-cash-in-on-chatgpt-hype/?sh=55bfdf2a77ac">‘AI Is The New Electricity’: Bank Of America Picks 20 Stocks To Cash In On ChatGPT Hype</a> (<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/"></a><strong><em>By Derek Saul, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Markets Open After Falling More 800 Points On Tuesday

Dow Jumps 400 Points As This Billionaire Investor Says Stock Market Has Room To Grow

<p>Some of the world&#8217;s richest people &#8211; including Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos &#8211; lost billions apiece on Monday as stocks took an ugly nosedive.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,175 points, or 4.6%, marking the largest one-day drop the blue-chip index has ever seen and wiping out its gains for the year. The Dow, which tracks 30 U.S. companies, is now down 2% so far this year. The S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq also fell by about 4% each on Monday.</p>
<p>Warren Buffett was hit the hardest by the sell-off: The drop shaved $5.3 billion off his net worth &#8211; a nearly 6% drop in just one day. He is still the third-richest person in the world with a net worth of $84.6 billion, according to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:realtime" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Forbes</em> real-time billionaire rankings.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2018/02/01/african-billionaire-fortunes-rise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: African Billionaire Fortunes Rise</a></p>
<p>Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was next in line, shedding $3.6 billion, or 4.7% of his net worth, as shares of his social media company dropped 5%. He finished the day with $73.1 billion to his name.</p>
<p>Amazon&#8217;s Jeff Bezos, the richest person on the planet, saw his fortune drop $3.2 billion. That erases <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurengensler/2018/02/02/jeff-bezos-adds-3-4-billion-to-fortune-as-amazon-investors-cheer-record-profits/#4c957c231a72" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the $3.2 billion he gained</a> one day last week after his company announced blockbuster quarterly results. He is still worth an astounding $115.7 billion, which puts him $25 billion ahead of the second-richest person on the planet, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2018/01/24/jeff-bezos-gains-2-8-billion-reaches-highest-net-worth-ever/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Jeff Bezos Gains $2.8 Billion, Reaches Highest Net Worth Ever</a></p>
<p>Meanwhile, Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin each lost $2.2 billion as shares of their parent company, Alphabet, fell by 5%. Oracle founder Larry Ellison&#8217;s fortune also dropped by $2.2 billion.</p>
<p>Altogether, the six billionaires that suffered the most from the market rout saw their fortunes shrivel by a whopping $18.8 billion in a single day. Many of the world&#8217;s richest people have their net worth tied up in shares of their publicly-traded companies and are vulnerable to fluctuations in the market.</p>
<p>To be sure, these billionaires have benefited hugely from a relentless bull market that is coming up on its nine-year anniversary. The S&amp;P 500 gained 19% in 2017, driven in part by record corporate profits and an improving economy. Jeff Bezos, for instance, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/10/27/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-is-the-richest-person-in-the-world-again/#ca192ca19480" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has become $28 billion richer</a> in just the last four months as shares of Amazon rose 30%. &#8211; <em>Written by <span class="fs-author-name contrib-byline-author speakable-author"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurengensler/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Lauren Gensler</a></span><span class="comma">, </span><span class="contrib-byline-type"><span class="fs-text-s forbes-staff">FORBES STAFF </span></span></em></p>


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Dow Jumps 400 Points As This Billionaire Investor Says Stock Market Has Room To Grow

Buffett, Zuckerberg & Bezos Lose Billions As Dow Drops Over 1,000 Points