Tech stocks are having a rough day, extending their recent slump amid a sector rotation away from big tech leaders.
The Nasdaq lost close to 1% in recent trading, and the S&P 500 slid 0.4% as tech sector losses weighed on the indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed as retail and consumer defensive names gained, while Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and Nvidia (NVDA) ranked among its weakest performers as all of the “Magnificent Seven” stocks declined.
Caution ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, uncertainty about policy changes from the Trump administration, and worries about returns from AI spending have all added to pressures on the sector.
However, some Wall Street analysts said they don't expect that to last long.
“While some near-term tech volatility is not surprising given the run-up in valuations, we advise investors against becoming overly defensive,” UBS said Wednesday.
“While we think some caution may be warranted in the more cyclical parts of tech, we remain confident in the broader AI sector's long-term growth and resilience. We recommend investors seek balanced exposure across the AI value chain (infrastructure, semis, and applications), with a preference for laggards offering a more attractive risk-reward balance,” UBS said.
“We view tech sell-offs like yesterday as opportunities,” bullish analysts at Wedbush told clients in a note Wednesday, suggesting the slump could be short-lived, and pointed to earnings from AI chipmaker Nvidia next week as a potential positive catalyst.
“When Nvidia reports earnings next week on August 27th the tech world and Wall Street will be listening closely,” they said, adding that they believe the “tech bull cycle will be well intact at least for another 2-3 years given the trillions being spent on AI.”
