{"id":100062,"date":"2026-02-23T23:08:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T02:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/894947192"},"modified":"2026-02-23T23:08:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T02:08:52","slug":"slumping-tech-stocks-revive-concerns-of-ai-fuelled-disruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/slumping-tech-stocks-revive-concerns-of-ai-fuelled-disruption\/","title":{"rendered":"Slumping tech stocks revive concerns of AI-fuelled disruption"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img data-opt-id=758893364  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" fifu-lazy=\"1\" fifu-data-sizes=\"auto\" 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https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/EHSPW4HKSNF4RJ4ALQBET3X34Q.JPG?auth=6b9b579a57c0457b6b23d07cb6b825cd3f4a075baff480b9436e1d28f1498641&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&smart=true&ssl=1&w=1024&resize=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/EHSPW4HKSNF4RJ4ALQBET3X34Q.JPG?auth=6b9b579a57c0457b6b23d07cb6b825cd3f4a075baff480b9436e1d28f1498641&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&smart=true&ssl=1&w=1280&resize=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/EHSPW4HKSNF4RJ4ALQBET3X34Q.JPG?auth=6b9b579a57c0457b6b23d07cb6b825cd3f4a075baff480b9436e1d28f1498641&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&smart=true&ssl=1&w=1600&resize=1600&ssl=1 1600w\" fifu-data-src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/EHSPW4HKSNF4RJ4ALQBET3X34Q.JPG?auth=6b9b579a57c0457b6b23d07cb6b825cd3f4a075baff480b9436e1d28f1498641&width=1200&height=800&quality=80&smart=true&ssl=1\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<figure class=\"BodyImage__BodyImagePhoto-sc-14nv9tx-0 vKplZ\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/EHSPW4HKSNF4RJ4ALQBET3X34Q.JPG?auth=6b9b579a57c0457b6b23d07cb6b825cd3f4a075baff480b9436e1d28f1498641&amp;width=600&amp;height=400&amp;quality=80&amp;focal=3220%2C2657\" data-photo-viewer-index=\"0\"><span class=\"u-visually-hidden\">Open this photo in gallery:<\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"c-image-figcap c-image-figcap--block\">\n<div class=\"figcap-grid\">\n<div class=\"figcap-cc\">\n<p class=\"figcap-text\"><span class=\"caption text-gmr-4\">Amazon- and Alphabet-backed company Anthropic released updates to expand the capabilities of its Claude AI model earlier this month, sparking investor fears.<\/span><span class=\"credit text-gmr-5\">Jonathan Raa\/Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div>\n<div class=\"default__Toolbar-sc-12lzz6r-0 grffJf article-toolbar\">\n<div class=\"tgam-popover-container tgam-toggletip-container styled-components__ToggletipWithButtonStyled-sc-onhcy6-1 dYiLYX c-button--article-toolbar article-toolbar-bookmark-menu\"><button aria-controls=\"article-toolbar-bookmark-toggletip\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-haspopup=\"true\" aria-label=\"Bookmark this article\" class=\"Button__StyledButton-sc-136o1ng-1 kvWUaG tgam-button tgam-button--icon-grey text-gml-2 styled-components__BookmarkButtonStyled-sc-onhcy6-2 llsWai\" data-sophi-action=\"toggle bookmark menu\" data-sophi-feature=\"article toolbar bookmark denied\" data-sophi-label=\"Save for later\" id=\"article-toolbar-bookmark-btn\" type=\"button\"><span class=\"tgam-button__content\">Save for later<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">A renewed slump in technology companies\u2019 shares on Monday underscored continued concern among analysts and investors about potential market disruptions caused by the expanding use of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">The S&amp;P\/TSX Capped Information Technology Index fell more than 3 per cent, taking its losses for the year to date to more than 20 per cent. That compares with a 2026 gain of nearly 6 per cent for the broader S&amp;P\/TSX Composite index. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">The fall in Canadian technology shares tracked a wider U.S. markets\u2019 slump that dragged the NASDAQ 100 Index down more than 1 per cent. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">Global market sentiment was also hit by uncertainty around worldwide trade after U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement on Saturday of higher global tariffs. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">Mr. Trump said that he would place temporary 15-per-cent tariffs on other countries, up from a 10-per-cent rate he had announced Friday in response to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down his sweeping \u201creciprocal\u201d tariffs on imports from around the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">But analysts said heavy falls in technology names pointed more specifically to concerns about the end of an AI-fuelled stock-market rally. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text mv-16 l-inset text-pb-8\" data-sophi-feature=\"interstitial\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/investing\/markets\/inside-the-market\/article-canadian-tech-stocks-investing-ai\/\">Canadian tech stocks struggle as investors worry about the impact of AI<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">In a recent research note to clients, Elias Hilmer, markets economist at Capital Economics, said that a bursting AI bubble could see U.S. shares, measured by the MSCI USA Index, fall by 12.5 per cent by the end of 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">While the sell-off reflects real concern about new technologies upending established businesses, market experts say some selling has been overdone. In fact, those same technologies could potentially provide a boost to a Canadian market relatively insulated from disruption. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cBabies [are] being thrown out with the bathwater as this rolling sector attack happens,\u201d said Craig Jerusalim, senior equities portfolio manager at CIBC, referring to sell-offs in recent weeks that have hit companies in industries as varied as software, trucking, real estate services and insurance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">Investor worries reached a fever pitch in January and early February when Amazon- and Alphabet-backed company Anthropic released updates that expanded the capabilities of its Claude AI model in software development and legal technology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">But calling the broad stock slump a \u201creverse meme,\u201d Mr. Jerusalim said markets appeared to be gripped by \u201cselling without the fundamental research backing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cJust a mere whisper of AI disruption [is] triggering indiscriminate selling of these high-quality companies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text mv-16 l-inset text-pb-8\" data-sophi-feature=\"interstitial\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/investing\/article-big-tech-to-invest-about-650-billion-in-ai-in-2026-bridgewater-says\/\">Big Tech to invest about $650-billion in AI in 2026, Bridgewater says<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">Technology companies, and in particular those focused on software, are ripe for disruption as their shares have traded at very high multiples, said Denis Taillefer, senior portfolio manager at Caldwell Investment Management in Toronto.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cSoftware companies historically always had these fantastic moats, but AI is going to chip away at that quite significantly,\u201d as even complex software becomes more easily replaced by AI agents, he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cIf you can\u2019t maintain that moat, then those premium valuations you had tied to that really will come under significant pressure, which is what we\u2019re seeing now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">But Mr. Taillefer said AI could even negatively impact companies seemingly well-insulated from direct effects. He highlighted the example of privately held financial data and media company Bloomberg LP, which could face pressure as the replacement of some analyst roles with AI reduces financial companies\u2019 demand for its expensive licences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cIs [Bloomberg] worth as much as you thought it was a few years ago, before AI started to show the type of impacts it could have?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">The task for portfolio managers, said Mr. Jerusalim, is identifying which companies will see their long-term values eroded, and where AI has the potential to increase productivity and margins. Investors are unlikely to glean much from current company metrics, though economists have pointed to indicators of rising U.S. productivity as an indication of AI\u2019s effects. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cYou\u2019re not going to see the impact in the next few quarters unless you\u2019re in the real eye of the storm,\u201d he said, noting the risks for companies based around call centres and easily replicated software services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">Another difficulty is that high-quality companies that have been the subject of irrational selling may not yet be good investment targets. \u201cEven if we\u2019re right, we\u2019re wrong at the moment,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cThose aren\u2019t the ones that we\u2019re necessarily chasing to be buying on this dip because, in many cases, the dip can last a lot longer than we expect,\u201d Mr. Jerusalim added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">One potential upside for Canadian investors, said Mr. Taillefer, is that the Canadian economy is more heavily weighted than the U.S. toward companies that could see benefits, rather than disruptions, from the spread of AI tools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">He said he sees opportunities in areas such as utilities, natural resources, waste management, construction and supermarkets. Those are areas \u201cwhere you will have some AI come into your business and help drive down costs or maybe improve sales \u2026 but the physical part of the business can\u2019t be displaced.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">A broader worry for the Canadian economy may be less the scale of potential disruption, which Mr. Taillefer said has historical parallels, than its speed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cUsually \u2026 the impact [a new technology] has would tend to be stretched over a longer time frame, so there\u2019s a little less friction in people being displaced and having to find new areas in the economy to retrain and redevelop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-article-body__text text-pr-5\">\u201cOur concern here is just that this can happen probably at a quicker pace and have a bigger impact on the work force.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\"> <\/a><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/blockads.fivefilters.org\/acceptable.html\"> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8230; Reuters A renewed slump in <span class=\"match\">technology<\/span> companies\u00e2\u0080\u0099 shares on Monday &#8230; said heavy falls in <span class=\"match\">technology<\/span> names pointed more specifically &#8230; stock-market rally. Canadian <span class=\"match\">tech<\/span> stocks struggle as investors worry &#8230; companies,\u00e2\u0080\u009d he said. Big <span class=\"match\">Tech<\/span> to invest about $650-billion &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}