What Investors Should Watch for in the Second Half of 2026

Market volatility tends to challenge investors' willpower to stick to their plan. That's understandable because it tends to be easier to say you will focus on the long-term until uncertainty emerges. Geopolitics and artificial intelligence stirred up their share of highs and lows in 2026. What lessons can you learn from past market-moving events to stay invested? And where are the opportunities in the second half of the year? Dominic Pappalardo is the chief multi-asset strategist for Morningstar Wealth. It's part of registered investment advisor, Morningstar Investment Management. What’s Ahead in 2027 and Beyond for Inflation, Fed Rate Cuts, and More On this episode: 00:00:31 Welcome 00:01:18 Stock market's first six months of 2026 00:01:41 Events driving this year's market highs and lows 00:06:02 Staying invested during drawdowns and volatility 00:10:04 Morningstar's mid-year market outlook 00:12:19 Fixed-income and equity sector opportunities 00:14:55 Investor takeaways for the second half of 2026   Watch more from Morningstar: Dividend Investing: How to Find the Right Balance Between Income and Growth https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/investing-insights/dividend-investing-how-find-right-balance-between-income-growth-2 Are Mutual Funds Becoming Obsolete? https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/investing-insights/are-mutual-funds-becoming-obsolete-2 Brace Your Portfolio for Mega-IPOs https://www.morningstar.com/podcasts/investing-insights/brace-your-portfolio-mega-ipos-2   Follow Morningstar on social:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningstarInc/ X: https://x.com/MorningstarInc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morningstarinc/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/morningstar/   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.