Barclays Warns AI Trade Faces Political Risk From Voter Backlash

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โดย Bloomberg·US·Read original
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Barclays Plc's equities tactical strategies team warned that the relentless buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure is drawing bipartisan backlash, potentially introducing political risk to the market's favored trade ahead of the US midterm election. Strategists including Jenny Yang and Alex Altmann wrote in a note that voter backlash will drive increased scrutiny of AI infrastructure, with policy pressure concentrated around data center regulation. They noted that the data-center buildout is turning AI from an abstract tech story into a tangible cost-of-living issue, as higher electricity bills, pressure on water supplies, and industrial facilities in communities make the issue highly relevant even for voters with limited direct exposure. Analysts from Evercore ISI and BCA Research have also flagged the construction boom of power-hungry data centers as a touchy election issue, while Bank of America Corp. sees a strong Republican showing as a catalyst for US equities to "rip." The Barclays team sees no incremental positive catalyst for the AI trade regardless of the outcome, highlighting the downside in their custom AI Data Center Index, which includes more than 40 stocks such as Super Micro Computer Inc., Arista Networks Inc., and Microsoft Corp.

Impact on stocks 6

Artificial Intelligence · 3 stocks
Financials · 3 stocks

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