Tech stocks slip as investors rotate towards defensive sectors

{"text":[[{"start":11.78,"text":"A decline in US tech stocks extended into Wednesday as concerns about the durability of this year’s rally in artificial intelligence shares prompted a shift into defensive sectors."}],[{"start":24.82,"text":"The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished the day down 0.7 per cent, while the blue-chip S&P 500 lost 0.2 per cent."}],[{"start":35.22,"text":"Several Big Tech groups came under selling pressure, with Apple and Amazon down about 2 per cent each and Google parent Alphabet falling 1 per cent. Palantir, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, declined 1 per cent."}],[{"start":50.55,"text":"Consumer staples, healthcare and utilities stocks climbed at the same time, as investors rotated into so-called value sectors at the expense of the racier tech names."}],[{"start":62.83,"text":"“Insatiable demand and capacity constraints propelled tech stocks to record highs,” said Laura Cooper, head of macro credit and global investment strategist at Nuveen. “Investors are now questioning the durability of the uptrend” because of “stretched valuations”."}],[{"start":81.56,"text":"On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite closed down 1.4 per cent, the biggest one-day drop for the index since August 1. The S&P 500 fell 0.7 per cent."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":95.56,"text":"The declines in tech stocks come amid warnings that the hype surrounding AI could be overdone, after a study by a branch of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warned in a new paper on Monday that 95 per cent of the companies polled had not seen returns on generative AI investments."}],[{"start":119.2,"text":"OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman acknowledged last week that some investors were “overexcited” about AI."}],[{"start":127.14,"text":"Marija Veitmane, head of equity research at State Street, said the market was “overreacting” to the MIT report. “The fundamental story in the [tech] sector is still strong. I don’t think the MIT report really changes that story.”"}],[{"start":142.79,"text":"But others argued the paper had crystallised concerns about how drastically AI might boost economic productivity, hastening a rotation out of expensive tech names."}],[{"start":155.72,"text":"Consumer-focused stocks also fell on Wednesday, with Target sliding 6.3 per cent after the retailer picked an insider to succeed veteran chief executive Brian Cornell to stem a long series of disappointing sales."}],[{"start":180.54,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftmailbox.cn/album/a_1755731073_4375.mp3"}