Market Momentum, AI Growth, and What’s Driving Markets Higher in 2026 (Ep. 98)

Markets continue reaching new highs, yet many investors remain hesitant to put money to work.  With headlines dominated by geopolitical conflict, rising oil prices, and rapid technological change, how do you separate emotion from opportunity? In this episode, Robert Curtiss welcomes back Miles Clark, Senior Analyst at Nasdaq Dorsey Wright, to discuss the forces shaping today’s market environment. They explore momentum investing, relative strength, semiconductor leadership, AI-driven growth, energy sector performance, and market participation trends.  Miles shares how momentum strategies identify strong-performing assets, why all-time highs may not be a reason to stay on the sidelines, and what narrowing market leadership could signal for investors moving forward. Key takeaways: How relative strength identifies leadership across equities, commodities, fixed income, and global markets Why semiconductor stocks continue driving market gains despite concerns about concentration levels How momentum strategies seek large winners while limiting the impact of underperforming holdings Why historical market performance often remains positive despite geopolitical conflict and uncertainty What narrowing market participation may reveal about the durability of the current market advance And more! Resources: Educational videos (bottom of the page) Connect with Miles Clark: LinkedIn: Miles Clark Nasdaq Dorsey Wright Connect with Robert Curtiss: [email protected] (626) 795-2944 About Robert Curtiss  LinkedIn: Robert Curtiss Facebook: Robert Curtiss SEIA LinkedIn: SEIA About Our Guest: Miles currently works as a Research Analyst for Nasdaq Dorsey Wright (DWA), a boutique investment advisory and asset management division of Nasdaq focused on providing quantitative strategies to Wall Street and professional money managers globally. Since 1987, DWA has been a recognized expert in relative strength and momentum through the application of Point & Figure (XO) charting, as well as a thought leader in tactical portfolio construction. Miles joined the DWA team as an intern in 2021 and now creates technical-based analysis and client-facing research in the firm’s Daily Market Analysis segment, with more focused coverage in the communication services, industrials and cryptocurrency spaces. Other areas of involvement to note include supplementing broad-based technical indicator and research projects and the creation of weekly media distributed to prospective clients.