Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving money and markets.
Hedge funds are doubling down on the AI trade heading into the second quarter, even after summer volatility forced a significant portfolio cleanup. The smart money has been concentrated in Big Tech, but managers are now quietly rotating into healthcare, energy, and financials — a sign they want AI exposure without the single-sector risk.
Shifting to the next generation of traders, Morgan Stanley's annual intern survey of more than five hundred respondents shows prediction market apps are gaining serious traction on Wall Street's youngest desks. More than a quarter of interns reported using a prediction market platform in the past year, while AI adoption surged sharply from last year's numbers. Notably, more than sixty percent of those same interns said they're worried AI will eventually cost them their jobs.
And on the Social Security front, a question that matters enormously to long-term financial planning — the gap between claiming at sixty-two versus waiting until seventy is substantial. Workers who claim early lock in a permanently reduced benefit, while those who hold out until seventy collect the maximum monthly payout, a difference that can define retirement security for decades.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
