Fitch warns AI correction is a major global credit risk. In its third-quarter Global Risk Outlook published July 28, Fitch Ratings explicitly warned that the AI boom — and the risk of a sharp correction — is emerging as a major global credit risk . Fitch said the S&P 500's valuation is nearing dot-com-era levels, and noted that U.S. corporate bond issuance rose 26% in the first half of 2026, driven largely by AI-related spending
. The agency highlighted that the medium- and long-term potential of AI is "highly uncertain," making the market vulnerable
. Fitch also cited a U.S.-Iran war and Strait of Hormuz disruption as other key near-term threats, along with strong El Niño pressures on junk-rated countries
.
The causal chain. The selloff and Fitch's warning are directly linked: the rout in tech stocks — driven by doubts that massive AI infrastructure spending will generate expected returns — prompted the rating agency's assessment that a correction in AI-exposed assets now poses a systemic credit risk . Multiple sources noted that the AI trade, which had driven much of the market's gains, was now the primary source of vulnerability
.