The U.S. stock market could easily absorb an interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve in September, with the artificial-intelligence investment theme likely to remain a positive force, according to Will McGough, chief investment officer at Prime Capital Financial.
Traders now see an increased chance of the Fed raising its policy rate by a quarter percentage point this month, after Friday’s U.S. jobs report came in much stronger than Wall Street expected. But such a hike wouldn’t derail the buildout of AI data centers by Big Tech companies within the cohort known as the Magnificent Seven, McGough said in a phone interview.
“We’ve been fans of the Mag 7 catch-up trade here,” he said, noting that the group is trailing the S&P 500 in 2026. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF’s 5.3% gain so far this year is well behind the S&P 500’s 12.7% climb, according to FactSet data, at last check.