Throughout the last two years, AI has exploded in popularity. The biggest buzzword for consumers and corporate businesses alike, the tech is promising to have an impact in every sector. Because of this, UAE retail investors now appear to heavily favour AI over big tech firms, according to new data from trading and investing platform eToro.
Big tech and pharma appear to be losing the most momentum, while AI is coming out on top, according to the latest quarterly stock data from eToro.
By analysing which companies experienced the biggest proportionate change in holders, eToro found that, in Q2, NVIDIA became the second-most popular stock on the eToro platform, behind only Tesla. The AI market leader, which ranked fifth at the end of Q1 and ninth three months earlier, continues to attract new users – fuelled by another 37 per cent surge in its share price over the latest quarterly period.
Semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also enjoyed 29 per cent growth in users, while Intel, which recently unveiled new AI chips, grew by 21 per cent. Palantir Technologies and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company also rose by 16 per cent to feature among the top 10.
However, while these firms enjoyed increased popularity, the biggest tech firms have taken a hit. Global technology firms including Snapchat (-11 per cent), Adobe (-16 per cent), Netflix (-5 per cent), and Apple (-5 per cent) witnessed a decline in investor interest with workforce reductions reported across the sector.
Pharmaceutical stocks such as Moderna (-9 per cent), Jaguar Health (-6 per cent), and Pfizer (-5 per cent) also experienced a downturn, as the Covid-19 pandemic and its after-effects receded into the past.
Backing AI potential
So why is AI capturing the attention of retail investors in the UAE? It’s all because of what people believe the future holds for the emerging technology, says one eToro spokesperson.
“The enthusiasm for AI giants underscores a collective investor belief in the transformative potential of artificial intelligence technologies,” explains George Naddaf, regional manager for the GCC and MENA at eToro. “Investors are now favouring the promising advancements and higher growth potential within the AI sector over the established yet increasingly volatile traditional tech landscape.
“With the pandemic’s immediate impact fading and global travel resuming robustly, as evidenced by Dubai Airport’s resurgence as one of the busiest airports worldwide investor’s attention is also shifting away from pandemic-driven pharma gains towards sectors poised for substantial post-pandemic growth. This evolving investor sentiment underscores a broader trend of prioritising future-oriented, high-growth sectors over established, but currently less dynamic, industries.”
