Kingworldnews·2026-02-18 23:40Core Viewpoint - The report highlights significant concerns in equity markets due to the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence (AI), leading to a sell-off across various sectors, reminiscent of the Dot-com Bust 2.0 [3][4]. Sector Impact - Insurance and Financial Services: Stock prices for insurance companies fell after the introduction of an AI app by OpenAI that could provide homeowners insurance quotes. Similarly, AI capable of advising on tax strategies negatively impacted asset managers and brokerage firms [5]. - Software Sector: The release of Anthropic's Claude AI, which can perform legal research and specialized financial tasks, caused a decline in software stocks, affecting companies like PayPal, Salesforce, and Thomson Reuters [6]. - Tech Stocks: Amazon experienced its eighth consecutive losing day following a significant increase in its capital budget for AI data centers, while Apple's market value decreased by 5% [7]. - Commercial Real Estate: Stocks in commercial real estate plummeted as investors moved away from high-fee, labor-intensive business models perceived as vulnerable to AI disruption. Major firms like CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield saw stock price drops of 12.8% and 14%, respectively [11][12]. Market Sentiment - Investors are exhibiting panic and confusion regarding AI's potential impacts, leading to a flight to safer stocks in consumer staples and energy sectors [8]. - Analysts noted that the sell-off in financial services and real estate was an "AI scare trade," with fears of job losses and business model disruptions driving excessive selling [15][16]. Global Impact - India's Tech Sector: The Indian technology sector faced its worst weekly performance since April 2025, with the Nifty IT index dropping 8.2% and erasing approximately $50 billion in value [18][20]. - Concerns are growing that AI could disrupt India's $283 billion information technology services industry, potentially leading to missed growth targets for IT companies [20]. Analyst Perspectives - Some analysts argue that the reaction to AI threats is overly simplistic, emphasizing that IT companies will remain relevant, albeit with a leaner workforce [22]. - The long-term outlook suggests that companies slow to adopt AI may face severe challenges, as AI agents could replace human-led processes [17].