Wall Street and Main Street face off next week with Nvidia, consumer earnings. Here's what's ahead

Next week will test whether the AI rally can hold as fears of rising inflation grow. Stocks have been ripping higher thanks to a revival in enthusiasm around artificial intelligence. Since its March low, the S & P 500 has rallied roughly 19% to top 7,500 this week for the first time ever. Chip stocks, and especially memory, are responsible for that advance. Take note that the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) , which has Micron Technology , SK Hynix and Samsung as its largest holdings, has already ballooned to $10 billion in assets under management, after only launching a little over a month ago. But the stock market has taken off without much participation from its base. Most glaringly absent are the cyclical corners that are most affected by the effects of higher inflation. The S & P 500, which has climbed 3% this month, is about flat on an equal-weight basis. Financials are the worst-performing sector year to date, down more than 6%, while consumer discretionary is only slightly higher on the year. "What we do know is that the rise in energy prices we have already seen is eventually going to have serious consequences for the economy and equities," François Trahan, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote this week. …