Despite markets continuing to hover near all-time highs, exuberance appears to have been replaced by cautious optimism.The artificial intelligence boom is still very much alive, and merely the mention of an AI deal is enough to pop a large-cap stock over 10% in a single day. But the large tech stock valuations are getting stretched even further, U.S. employment numbers are weak, and the federal government shutdown is beginning to cause economic hardship.It's been more than six months since the market experi ...