A senior Goldman Sachs executive says the recent market rally is being driven less by present economic fundamentals and more by expectations of an artificial intelligence boom and an expansion of data center infrastructure.
In a new CNBC interview, former Dallas Fed president and Goldman vice president Robert Kaplan says investors are increasingly focused on future catalysts rather than current growth figures.
He points to a mix of policy optimism and technology investment that is shaping valuations across equity markets.
“But I think the markets are pricing what they think is going to happen in the next two or three years. Regulatory relief, tax incentives coming, AI, data center power boom. That’s what’s fueling the market, not what’s going on in the current economy.”
Kaplan also warns that while markets appear confident about long-term productivity gains, the real economy is showing pockets of weakness. He suggests that employers may already be restructuring hiring amid the emergence of AI.
“Yes, the issue we’re seeing in the job market is, in my view, the market is sluggish, but there’s a lot of mismatches. So, there may be a view that people are changing their hiring in anticipation of AI.
There are lots of open jobs, though, we’re seeing in construction, service sector, other sectors. And the problem is, either because of geographic inability to move or aspiration. A college graduate doesn’t want those jobs.”
The shift, he says, is leaving a visible gap in the labor market.
“There’s plenty of jobs, but we’ve got a mismatch. Normally, that takes some time to resolve.”
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