The S&P 500 just crossed the 7,000 mark. It’s wild. If you told someone two years ago that we’d be sitting here in January 2026 with the index at these levels, they’d have called you a dreamer. But here we are. The "One Big Beautiful Act" has essentially rewrit the corporate tax playbook, and the Federal Reserve is finally leaning into rate cuts, currently sitting in the $3.50%$ to $3.75%$ range.
So, you're asking the big question: what stocks should i invest in right now?
Honestly, the answer isn't just "buy Nvidia and chill" anymore. While Nvidia ($NVDA$) is still a beast with a $4.5 trillion market cap, the "Magnificent Seven" trade has gotten... complicated. Last year, only two of those tech giants actually beat the broader market. The easy money from the initial AI hype has been made. Now, the market is getting picky. It's looking for "quality" and "monetization" rather than just "potential."
The AI Trade Is Evolving into Infrastructure and Utilities
Everyone spent 2024 and 2025 obsessed with the chips. Now, in 2026, the focus has shifted to the stuff that actually makes AI run: power and cooling. You can't run a massive LLM if the grid is melting.
J.P. Morgan recently pointed out that "AI utilities" like NextEra Energy ($NEE$) and Vistra ($VST$) are becoming the new darlings of the tech world. These aren't your grandma's sleepy dividend stocks anymore. They are the backbone of the data center explosion. Morgan Stanley estimates that we've only seen about $20%$ of the projected $3 trillion in data center-related capital expenditure actually deployed. That leaves a lot of runway.
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Why You Should Watch the "Picks and Shovels" 2.0
- Energy Infrastructure: Companies like Eaton ($ETN$) and GE Vernova ($GEV$) are seeing massive demand for heavy electrical equipment.
- The Data Center Real Estate: It’s not just about the servers; it’s about where they sit.
- Nuclear Plays: Look at Oklo Inc. ($OKLO$). It recently saw a $77%$ weekly jump because Big Tech is getting desperate for stable, carbon-free power.
If you're wondering what stocks should i invest in right now, don't ignore the boring companies that sell the transformers and cooling systems. They have more pricing power than you'd think.
Healthcare Is the Sleepy Giant of 2026
Healthcare was sort of a punching bag for a while. Between drug pricing concerns and policy uncertainty, investors stayed away. But things changed this month. The policy headwinds around the Affordable Care Act have mostly cleared, and valuations are looking pretty juicy compared to the tech sector.
I’m looking closely at companies like Harmony Biosciences ($HRMY$). They specialize in rare neurological disorders and have a health score that most analysts are calling "excellent." Then there’s the GLP-1 (weight loss drug) ripple effect. It’s not just Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk anymore. Distributors like Cencora ($COR$) are riding the wave of higher unit volumes as these drugs become more accessible.
Cencora’s 2026 earnings estimates are pegged at $17.62 per share. That’s a $10%$ jump year-over-year. When the rest of the market feels expensive, these types of fundamental growth stories start to look really attractive.
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Consumer Staples and the "Flight to Quality"
The consumer is in a weird spot. Interest rates are coming down, but they aren't "zero" like they were a few years ago. People are still feeling the pinch. This is why a company like Cal-Maine Foods ($CALM$) is actually a solid play right now.
They do eggs. Basically just eggs.
It sounds boring, right? But in a market where people are hunting for "fair value," Cal-Maine has a market cap around $3.85 billion and a balance sheet that makes tech startups weep. When you're trying to figure out what stocks should i invest in right now, having a defensive layer of consumer staples is just smart. You need the stuff that people buy even when the economy wobbles.
What Most People Get Wrong About Tech in 2026
The biggest mistake right now? Assuming that "Tech" is a single monolith.
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There's a massive divergence happening. Software companies are actually at risk because AI models are starting to incorporate application capabilities directly. If an AI can do the job of a $50-a-month SaaS tool, that tool is in trouble. On the flip side, "Direct AI" companies like Oracle ($ORCL$) and Palantir ($PLTR$) are still seeing strong institutional buying.
And don't sleep on the "S&P 500 Growth" index. The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF ($VOOG$) outperformed the regular S&P 500 by $4%$ last year ($21%$ vs $17%$). It basically filters out the laggards and keeps the winners. If you don't want to pick individual stocks, that's a very solid "set it and forget it" move for this environment.
Actionable Steps for Your Portfolio
If you’re looking to put money to work today, here’s how to approach it:
- Check Your AI Weighting: If $50%$ of your portfolio is in three chip stocks, you're over-leveraged. Consider rotating some of those gains into the energy companies ($VST$, $NEE$) that power the data centers.
- Look at Mid-Caps: The "Magnificent Seven" are crowded. Mid-cap firms like Harmony Biosciences or even maritime shipping plays like Danaos Corp ($DAC$) are offering better value-to-growth ratios.
- Hedge with Healthcare: Use the current rotation into defensive sectors to pick up quality names like UnitedHealth Group ($UNH$) or Intuitive Surgical ($ISRG$) while they are still trading at reasonable multiples.
- Watch the Fed: We’re expecting maybe two or three more rate cuts this year. This usually favors small caps and real estate, but only if the economy stays out of a recession.
The 2026 market isn't about throwing a dart at a board. It’s about finding the companies that are actually turning AI and policy changes into cold, hard cash flow.