El sector históricamente más beneficiado con cada pinchazo tecnológico

Historically, the technology sector has been the most benefited from each technological shock. This week, the sector experienced its second major correction. Firms like RBC are reducing their exposure to technology and seeking alternatives in a natural destination with each technological pinch. The debate over valuations of the most volatile companies during the AI rally is intense, with any new development capable of triggering significant declines.

This was the case yesterday with the release of U.S. inflation data, which surpassed market expectations, leading investors to anticipate further interest rate hikes by the Fed before the year's end. Monetary pressures are transferred to financing costs, particularly affecting the technology sector, which is in a billion-dollar race for AI development.

While the initial sales wave was triggered by an inflation rate higher than expected, the technology sector was the main driver of the declines, according to JPMorgan analysts, who emphasized the growing financing risks as a significant threat to the sector. Just before the technology sector's corrective move initiated on Wall Street, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) analysts announced a change in their sector preferences.

The Canadian firm lowered its recommendation on technology stocks to neutral, citing four years of overvaluation due to the AI surge, concerns about concentration risks, and delayed returns on investments recently pressuring the sector. Faced with these growing risks, RBC has focused on rotating towards market segments with more attractive valuations after the technology rally.

The Canadian firm has no doubts about choosing a new destination: healthcare. Historical precedents support this preference for the healthcare sector, as RBC points out that historically, the relative performance of the healthcare sector has moved inversely to the technology sector. The historical series, they emphasize, makes the healthcare sector a natural destination to turn to when seeking to reduce exposure to technology.

Healthcare companies also appear in UBS analysts' preferences. The most recent episodes of volatility in technology reinforce UBS's recommendation to adopt a well-diversified positioning, with healthcare included among their preferred sectors. UBS analysts have also previously highlighted the appeal of adding more diversification to the portfolio through exposure to the Swiss market, due to its defensive characteristics, among other factors, the high weighting of pharmaceuticals in its benchmark index, the SMI.