U.S. stocks steady; investors focus on quarterly earnings deluge
Investing.com -- Wedbush analyst Dan Ives sees Trump’s latest tariff policies as a significant near-term headwind for growth stocks but remains confident in the long-term strength of the AI-driven tech trade.
“With Trump’s Mexico and Canada tariffs now beginning and China tariffs on deck, investors around the world are entering a very nervous period, especially for growth stocks,” Wedbush wrote.
The biggest risk, according to Ives, is that the Trump administration accelerates its crackdown on China, particularly on chip exports, following concerns over the emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup suspected of using Nvidia’s advanced GPUs despite export restrictions.
“There is one chip in the world fueling the AI Revolution and it’s Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA),” Ives noted, warning that “the current export controls around China have been a headwind” and further restrictions could intensify market concerns.
Despite the uncertainty, Wedbush believes the AI boom remains intact. “Our view is we are in the midst of the biggest tech transformation trade since the Industrial Revolution with AI and $2 trillion of AI Capex over the next 3 years,” the analysts wrote.
While tariffs may slow certain areas of growth, Ives argues they are part of a “high-stakes poker” strategy aimed at forcing trade negotiations with China, Canada, and Mexico.
Wedbush maintains that AI leaders such as Nvidia, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) remain the stocks to own. “This will be an ‘uncomfortable time for growth investors’... but ultimately this is not the time to run for the hills in the tech trade and instead own these tech AI winners.”