On October 13th, reports surfaced indicating a sell-off in stocks related to artificial intelligence (AI), prompting a two-day consecutive decline in major emerging market stock indices. Meanwhile, currencies in Asian regions with a high concentration of tech industries also weakened under the pressure. Yves Bonzon, Chief Investment Officer at Julius Baer Group, highlighted that while earnings growth may underpin certain valuations of AI stocks, the uncertainty surrounding the future prospects of technological development is likely to keep fueling market volatility. He emphasized the significant ambiguity regarding the distribution of future profits and the stability of valuation levels. As long as this uncertainty lingers, the market will occasionally witness sharp bouts of profit-taking, as evidenced by the earlier sell-off in South Korean semiconductor stocks that day. Amid the prevailing market pessimism, investors may shift their focus more towards the outlook for future supply growth. However, in reality, the certification and validation processes for advanced AI storage products are lengthy, and the effects of competition will manifest gradually rather than instantaneously.
