NEW YORK: Get ready for some drama in the American stock market! After soaring steadily for six months, stocks are now slipping in November, leaving investors biting their nails. The S&P 500 has fallen over 3% from its late October high, and the Nasdaq Composite has slid around 6% from its peak. To add spice, the S&P 500 crossed below its 50-day moving average on Monday for the first time since April 30—a key signal many watch closely. Meanwhile, Wall Street's famous fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, jumped on Tuesday to its highest point in a month. Some experts say this dip might be a good thing—a kind of market detox to clean out risky bets. The S&P 500 is still up more than 30% since its low in April, so the bull market is far from over. But big questions hang heavy in the air. Could we be seeing an "AI bubble" bursting? Tech stocks, especially those riding the artificial intelligence wave, are feeling the heat. Tony Roth, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust, shared the hot take: "Markets are needy of getting both reassurance the Fed is going to cut rates and also reassurance that the AI trade is not going to go south." Investors have been watching Nvidia Corp like hawks. As the biggest company by market value and a giant in AI chip-making, Nvidia’s fiscal third-quarter earnings coming on Wednesday after market close might shake things up. Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel, said, "I can't think of a real reason to go in and buy aggressively until that's out of the way." Nvidia’s results could either bolster faith in AI or create more jitters. Also stirring the pot is the flood of government data delayed by the recent 43-day U.S. government shutdown—the longest ever. Starting with the important September jobs report due Thursday, investors await clues about the economy’s health and the Fed’s next move. The Fed was expected to cut interest rates on December 10 for the third time in a row as signs showed the labor market weakening. But Fed chair Jerome Powell and others have cooled down those expectations, and now markets see a nearly 50-50 chance of that cut happening. Matt Stucky, chief portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, reminds us, "The nonfarm payrolls report will hold a whole lot of weight with policymakers, whether or not they need to move forward with additional easing. So it definitely is a market moving event." Some worry that the delayed data might reveal a longer slowdown than hoped. Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth, warned, "Depending on how weak the numbers are, I guess you have to be careful what you wish for." It’s not just stocks. Gold and bitcoin, which had shined since April, have also dipped recently. Marta Norton from Empower explains, "Such 'froth' coming out of several assets is a sign of how sentiment had just gotten very complacent, not just around AI, but around anything that was going up." But she adds, "I don't think it's a bubble because there's still enough fundamental health in the market," calling it more of a "course correction." Johanna Kyrklund of Schroders points out, "The selloff is very limited," noting the market hasn’t hit a 10% correction, which is the usual marker for a serious drop. She remains optimistic about U.S. stocks and says, "Valuations are expensive, but they can probably stay expensive for a bit longer." Still, caution is key. Jim Carroll, wealth advisor at Ballast Rock Private Wealth, urges, "It's a really good time to gut check your exposure and get comfortable with the potential for a pullback more meaningful than one day or a week." So, folks, buckle up! The market rollercoaster is chugging along, with Nvidia’s AI report and the Fed’s rate decision just around the corner. Will stocks roar back or continue to shake? Stay tuned!