[JPMorgan: AI/Tech Stocks May Relinquish Leadership in the Second Half of the Year] BlockBeats News, August 4 – U.S. stocks started August with a strong rebound, but JPMorgan has cautioned that the market's main drivers in the second half of the year may no longer be solely AI and large-cap tech stocks. On Monday, Eastern Time, the S&P 500 Index rose 1.5% to 7600.50 points, just shy of its all-time high; the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 693 points to set a new closing high; and the Nasdaq rebounded 2.1%. On the surface, tech stocks reignited risk appetite, but JPMorgan strategist Mislav Matejka's team believes it will be difficult for tech stocks to replicate last year's "standalone rally" in the second half of 2026. The bank's concerns focus on two areas: First, AI capital expenditures by mega cloud providers such as Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet remain elevated, and the market is beginning to question when these investments will translate into free cash flow. Second, the substitution effect of AI on sectors like software, business services, and media is suppressing valuations. Recent market trends have already shown signs of this shift. In July, chip and AI momentum stocks experienced sharp pullbacks, with the Nasdaq significantly underperforming the Dow and equal-weighted indices at one point. Meanwhile, falling oil prices, resilient U.S. economic data, and changing expectations for rate cuts have redirected investor attention to consumer cyclicals, industrials, financials, and non-U.S. equities. As a result, JPMorgan leans more toward a diffusion of market leadership rather than continuing to bet on a few AI giants driving the indices.