Investors are doing just as well this year by shunning AI. How to invest if the tech trade keeps fizzling

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City on October 19, 2026. Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty ImagesA version of the S&P 500 without AI briefly pulled ahead of the traditional index this year and is now neck-and-neck as investors rotate into other areas of the market.A proprietary Goldman Sachs index tracking the S&P 500 without stocks classified as "AI enablers" was up 12.4% through Oct. 22, edging ahead of the standard S&P 500's 12% gain. The Goldman index is now neck-and-neck with the S&P 500 as tech rallied in Monday trading. Tech and AI-related companies make up about 45% of the S&P 500. That heavy weighting has helped power the index for years, but it's turned into a liability lately; the S&P 500 tech sector is down about 7% this month while other sectors have held up. Investors have soured on debt and equity issued by companies like CoreWeave and Oracle. Shares of Meta Platforms sank almost 7% Thursday after it outlined more plans to spend heavily on capex and issue additional shares.Companies supplying power and equipment for the buildout have been hit hard — names like GE Vernova, Bloom Energy, ...