Bespoke Investment Group co-founder Paul Hickey has reason to believe the market has more room to run next year, but said investors should be ready for twists along the way. “Expect the unexpected,” Hickey told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday morning. “We’re positioned positively for the year ahead. But nobody knows what’s going to happen by … the end of January, let alone by the end of the year.” Stocks like those connected to the artificial intelligence trade have been selling off on good news, Hickey said. However, the pros for the stock market, such as the lack of a large uptick in inflation, “outweigh” the cons, he explained. The mixture of the dollar, oil and 10-year U.S. Treasury yield all sitting near 52-week lows bodes well for stocks, he added. Historically, when the trio is all at the low-end of their one-year range, the outlook for equities is positive, the College of the Holy Cross alum said. “What we call those are the three-headed monster,” Hickey said. “When all those are rising in unison, it’s usually a big headwind for the market,” he said. “When they’re all falling or near 52-week lows, like they are now, it’s like they’re rolling out the red carpet for equities.” US10Y 1Y mountain U.S. 10-year Treasury, 1-year While the market may see a rotation in leadership, it’s important that the “Magnificent Seven” stocks to continue to at least tread water given their weight, Hickey said. He pointed out that the stock market since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has tracked closely to how it performed in the aftermath of Netscape’s product release in the 1990s. He said ChatGPT made AI mainstream in the same way that Netscape did for the internet. “Every time we bring it up, people laugh at us,” Hickey said. “I hope they keep laughing at us because the market has continued to defy the conventional wisdom and track that performance very well.” .IXIC 5Y mountain The Nasdaq Composite, 5-year chart Hickey brushed off concerns about an AI bubble , pointing out that precious metals and related stocks have rallied even further than the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite . He noted that the Nasdaq has surged roughly 130% from October 2022 lows, while gold and silver have soared around 170% and 300%, respectively. “If there is a bubble anywhere, I think it’s in some of these precious metal stocks,” he said. Hickey’s expectations come as Wall Street readies for the new trading year, which commences with Friday’s opening bell. CNBC Pro’s exclusive survey shows the average strategist expects the S & P 500 to end 2026 at 7,629, which reflects upside of more than 10% over last week’s closing level.