The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday, June 17, edition that easing tensions in the Middle East are prompting investors to look beyond the artificial intelligence sector that has dominated the market this year. A Bloomberg dispatch to The Globe reports that Goldman Sachs traders, including Lee Coppersmith, note that underpriced cyclical stocks may offer catch-up potential as enthusiasm for AI shows signs of exhaustion. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has affected economically-sensitive stocks, which are now expected to outperform. A basket of these stocks in the S&P 500 rose 11 per cent this year, compared with a 17-per-cent gain in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100. Integrity Asset Management portfolio manager Joe Gilbert says: "With the end of the war, the market will look past upcoming inflation numbers and price out the rate hike and we can move back to looking for rate cuts. This will provide a tailwind for smaller companies, cyclical stocks and bonds." United States stocks rallied on Monday while crude dropped to a three-month low after the U.S. and Iran agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about rising energy costs and their impact on inflation.