Market leadership is broadening: Here are the winners beyond tech and AI

Key points:

• The AI selloff is not a selloff in everything. Semiconductors have fallen more than 20% over the past month, but healthcare, dividend stocks, low-volatility equities and selected other sectors have posted strong gains.
• Market leadership is broadening, but selectively. US equal-weight and value strategies are outperforming technology-heavy benchmarks, while Europe is showing resilience. Emerging markets are divided, with India and Mexico outperforming sharply weaker Korea and Taiwan.
• Diversification is working, but not every hedge is delivering. Bonds and interest-rate-sensitive equities have gained ground, while gold, silver and several international equity markets have struggled. Investors need different sources of returns, not just more holdings.

The AI selloff is changing the market conversation

After months of AI enthusiasm driving stock markets higher, the technology sector is facing a reality check.

Investors are asking tougher questions about the billions being spent on AI infrastructure. How quickly will those investments generate profits? Can data-centre expansion continue at the same pace? And will higher financing costs or tighter regulation change the economics of the AI boom?

The recent US midterm election results have added uncertainty around the regulatory outlook for AI, while stronger-than-expected inflation has complicated expectations for interest rates.

The result has been a sharp correction in technology stocks, particularly semiconductors and companies tied to AI infrastructure.

But here's what investors might be missing: while technology stocks are recovering in part after the selloff, several other parts of the market have also been quietly delivering strong returns.

Healthcare, dividends, real estate, selected international equities and even bonds have been moving in a different direction.

This raises an important question: Are we seeing the beginning of a healthier, broader market rally — or is the recent divergence simply a temporary escape from technology?

Looking at the past month's ETF performance offers some interesting clues.

Less Nasdaq, more breadth: The rotation within US equities

The divergence within US equities is striking.

Over roughly the past month, the S&P 500 ETF has declined over 3%, the Nasdaq-100 ETF around 10%, and the semiconductor ETF SOXX more than 20%.

Yet several other US equity strategies have delivered positive returns.

Source: Selected ETF price performance, Saxo platform and market data, approximately one month to 10 November 2026. Observation windows may vary slightly.

Two trends stand out.

First, investors haven't needed to leave US equities to find better performance. Equal-weight, value and dividend strategies have delivered gains even as technology-heavy benchmarks have fallen.

Second, dividend and low-volatility strategies have significantly outperformed the quality factor. This is particularly interesting because quality is often considered a defensive strategy. However, some quality ETFs still carry substantial exposure to expensive growth stocks.

That distinction matters when valuations are under pressure.

What this means for investors: Diversifying within US equities can be just as important as diversifying internationally. Investors with heavy Nasdaq exposure could explore equal-weight, dividend, value or low-volatility strategies to reduce dependence on a narrow group of AI leaders.

The risk is that these strategies can lag if technology rebounds sharply. A rotation should be about balancing portfolio exposure rather than making an all-or-nothing bet against AI.

Healthcare: A different kind of growth story

One of the strongest performers outside technology has been healthcare.

The US healthcare sector ETF (XLV) has gained 10.6% over the past month and 28.3% over one year.

That is particularly notable because healthcare is not simply a defensive sector. It also offers exposure to innovation, medical technology, pharmaceuticals and long-term demographic demand.

Unlike the AI infrastructure trade, where investors are increasingly questioning the scale of capital spending relative to near-term returns, healthcare has a different set of earnings drivers.

There are still risks, including drug-pricing regulation, patent expirations, clinical results and valuations. But its recent performance is a reminder that investors can find growth opportunities outside the technology sector.

What this means for investors: Healthcare could provide a useful complement to technology-heavy portfolios, offering exposure to innovation without relying on the same AI spending cycle.

Real estate, utilities and bonds: The interest-rate rotation

Another interesting trend is the strength of interest-rate-sensitive assets.

Over the past month:

The common theme is sensitivity to interest rates.

Real estate and utilities often benefit when bond yields decline, given their income characteristics and financing requirements. Government bonds can also gain when investors become more concerned about economic growth.

This suggests the market rotation is not just about moving away from AI. It also reflects changing expectations for growth, inflation and interest rates.

However, the recent stronger inflation data and hawkish Federal Reserve commentary are important reminders that the path for interest rates remains uncertain.

If bond yields rise again, some of the recent gains in property, utilities and longer-duration bonds could reverse.

What this means for investors: Bonds can provide income and diversification from equities, while real estate and utilities offer different earnings drivers. But investors should be aware that these assets can share the same sensitivity to rising yields.

Europe is holding up, but international diversification is not working everywhere

Investors looking to reduce their reliance on US technology have increasingly considered international equities.

But the past month's performance suggests that simply moving outside the US is not enough.

Europe stands out for its relative resilience.

European equity markets generally have less exposure to mega-cap AI companies and greater representation from financials, industrials, healthcare and established businesses.

Lower oil prices could also help Europe's energy-importing economies and support corporate margins.

But risks remain. Europe faces modest growth, fiscal pressures, political uncertainty and exposure to global trade.

Japan, meanwhile, has struggled amid currency uncertainty and sensitivity to the global technology and manufacturing cycle.

What this means for investors: Europe offers an alternative set of earnings drivers to US mega-cap technology, but investors should remain selective. Geographic diversification only works effectively when the underlying risks are genuinely different.

Emerging markets are splitting into two very different stories

Perhaps the most dramatic divergence is happening within emerging markets.

For years, emerging-market ETFs have been a popular way to diversify away from developed-market equities. But the AI boom has created a new concentration risk, particularly through Korea and Taiwan.

The latest price action illustrates this clearly.

India has been a standout performer, supported by a market structure more oriented toward domestic consumption, financial services and infrastructure than the global semiconductor cycle. However, its strong one-month rebound follows a weaker longer-term period, and valuations remain an important consideration.

Mexico has also shown resilience, offering exposure to domestic demand and North American manufacturing and supply chains.

In contrast, Korea and Taiwan have suffered steep declines as investors reassess the AI investment cycle. Both markets have significant semiconductor exposure, which helped drive their earlier gains but has become a source of vulnerability.

This highlights a hidden risk in diversified portfolios.

An investor holding the Nasdaq, semiconductor stocks and broad emerging-market ETFs may effectively be making several versions of the same AI investment bet.

It also explains why broad EM indices have struggled even as individual markets such as India and Mexico have rallied.

What this means for investors: Emerging markets should not be treated as one trade. Country selection, sector concentration and currency exposure matter, especially when trying to diversify away from AI.

Not every safe haven is doing its job

While bonds have provided some protection, precious metals have experienced a very different month.

Gold ETFs have declined by around 4%, while silver has fallen more than 15%.

This may seem surprising given the uncertainty surrounding technology stocks and global markets.

But different assets respond to different risks.

Gold can benefit from geopolitical uncertainty and lower real yields, but it may struggle when real interest rates rise, the dollar strengthens or investors unwind leveraged positions.

Silver has additional exposure to industrial demand, making it more vulnerable when growth expectations weaken.

What this means for investors: Diversification is not about expecting every hedge to rise whenever stocks fall. Gold, bonds and defensive equities serve different purposes and may perform differently depending on the source of market stress.

How should investors position for the next phase?

The recent market correction is a useful opportunity to review portfolio concentration rather than make rushed decisions based on technology headlines.

1. Look beyond headline diversification. Owning multiple ETFs does not necessarily mean owning different risks. Check whether US equity, thematic and emerging-market holdings overlap in AI and semiconductor exposure.

2. Broaden equity exposure without abandoning growth. Equal-weight, value, dividend and healthcare strategies offer different earnings drivers. Investors can retain exposure to AI while reducing reliance on a handful of companies.

3. Consider a more balanced role for bonds and income. Bonds can offer income and potential protection against growth shocks, but duration exposure should reflect the risk of renewed inflation and higher yields.

4. Be selective internationally. Europe, India and Mexico have shown resilience, but their economic drivers and risks differ. Recent performance alone is not a reason to chase these markets.

5. Keep room for technology to recover. AI remains a powerful long-term investment theme. The correction may eventually create opportunities in companies with strong balance sheets, sustainable cash flows and clearer returns on AI investment. But not every company will emerge as a winner.

Is this the beginning of a broader bull market?

The encouraging message from the past month's price action is that AI doesn't have to keep carrying the entire market.

Technology stocks are recovering, but healthcare, dividend equities, value strategies and selected international markets have demonstrated that returns can come from different sources.

This is potentially a healthier development for markets. A rally supported by more sectors and a wider range of earnings drivers could prove more sustainable than one dependent on a handful of mega-cap technology companies.

But one month of performance does not confirm a lasting rotation. Investors still need to see whether earnings growth broadens beyond technology, whether the AI recovery holds, and whether inflation and interest rates allow other sectors to maintain their momentum.

The next phase of the bull market may not be about AI losing leadership. It may be about AI sharing leadership.

For investors, that creates a different opportunity. Rather than choosing between buying the AI dip and abandoning technology altogether, the focus should be on building portfolios that can participate in an AI recovery while also benefiting from growth, income and opportunities elsewhere.

The message is not to move out of AI. It is to make sure AI isn't the only thing working in your portfolio.

Explore our Rotation ETF shortlist to discover equal-weight, value and dividend strategies, regional equities, defensive sectors, real assets and bond opportunities.