by Samuel Indyk
LONDON, September 8 (Reuters) – Financial investors are starting to tire of the hype around artificial intelligence (AI) following the recent outflow of funds from technology stocks, a first in almost three months, shows a study published Friday by BofA Global Research.
During the week to September 6, equity funds recorded net inflows of $2.2 billion, said BofA, which relies on EPFR data. On the other hand, technology stocks recorded capital outflows of $1.7 billion over the same period, a first in eleven weeks.
The recovery of stock markets around the world has been supported since the start of the year by large-cap American technology stocks, such as Microsoft and Nvidia, which have shown that they can benefit from the rise of artificial intelligence. .
But this rally is starting to run out of steam and was even interrupted last month in a context of rising bond yields against a backdrop of solidity in the American economy, with markets estimating that recent macroeconomic data could encourage the American Federal Reserve ( Fed) to delay the timetable for lowering its interest rates.
According to Michael Hartnett, strategist at BofA and author of the American investment bank’s weekly report, investors currently share a well-held idea: “The soft landing (of the economy) is all the rage, but there is no “There’s not a single bond manager in the world, with over $150 billion in assets under management, who doesn’t think there won’t be a hard landing,” he said. -he says.
According to BofA, oil prices, a strong U.S. dollar, bond yields and tighter financial conditions pose threats to risky assets in September and October.
Brent crude hit its highest level since November on Wednesday, while the dollar climbed to a peak since March and is on course for its longest run of weekly gains in nine years.
In a sign of a decline in risk appetite, the bond market recorded a net inflow of $4 billion, with investors also placing $68.4 billion in cash, the largest inflow in nine weeks.
At the same time, the “Bull & Bear” indicator of financial market sentiment, calculated by BofA, fell from 4.4 to 4, due to outflows from emerging market bonds and stocks and market tightness of actions. (Report Samuel Indyk, French version Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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