The stock market isn't much concerned with consumers right now

The intrigue: Those pressures matter a lot to real people trying to get by and to lawmakers heading into midterm elections.

• Yet for stock investors overall, these companies simply don't matter that much.

The big picture: Right now, AI is the force driving the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, and even the country's largest retailers are sitting in the back seat.

Zoom in: Energy and the oil-sensitive consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors account for just 18% of collective S&P 500 earnings compared with 38% for information technology and communication services, Goldman Sachs analysts pointed out in a note earlier this year.

• "What's happening in AI is easily outweighing at the moment what's happening with energy prices," Ben Snider, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, told Axios last week.

Reality check: Dynamics can always change.

What to watch: The big AI vibe check — otherwise known as Nvidia's earnings report — is the one investors are awaiting this week, and that drops tomorrow.