Weekly Roundup: AI Frenzy Fizzles, Oil Surges as Chips Crash 17%

This week’s market vibe: AI goes from King Kong to Kong-wrong. Wall Street wiped nearly 17% off major chip stocks as a Chinese startup, Moonshot, dropped a 2.8-trillion-parameter AI model that’s cheaper and almost as sharp as anything from OpenAI or Anthropic. US tech names got a gut check, Bloomberg, CNBC, and Fundstrat hosts spent more time questioning the AI trade than your grandma debating NFTs at Thanksgiving.

On top of the sleepless AI sector, oil prices jumped 4%+ with WTI closing above $82, thanks to a US-Iran slugfest in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz drama. Meanwhile, US consumers channeled their inner coupon-clippers: 47% slashed spending on essentials (CNBC poll), and Netflix shares hit a two-month low as streaming competition goes full WWE. Sports betting did its best tequila shot as BetMGM and friends posted record World Cup action, volume up 3X from 2022. If you survived by rotating into defensive stocks or dining on ramen, you’re right in the pulse of market survival mode. Hang tight, because on Wall Street this summer, the only dip with real demand is guacamole.