Markets' next upside leg may ride on a Goldilocks backdrop, not AI hype

After weeks of AI-led gains, a Macro Compass framework argues the next stock-market leg higher could come from a Goldilocks setup—steady growth, contained inflation, and a predictable Fed—potentially lifting the S&P 500 to about 8,000–8,150 in six months. While AI remains influential (it helps explain much of the market’s variability), leadership has rotated toward Financials, Industrials, and Materials, with megacap tech lagging; select emerging markets and European equities may offer attractive risk-balanced upside under this backdrop.