The stock market plunged on Monday as AI-related stocks faced heavy selling pressure, with the S&P 500 falling 1.46% and the Nasdaq dropping 3%. The sell-off was triggered by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s breakthrough, raising concerns over lower AI infrastructure spending in the near term.
Despite the sharp drop, Bank of America (BofA) analysts identified idiosyncratic buying opportunities in stocks with strong non-AI growth drivers:
Additionally, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) were highlighted as defensive plays with strong growth potential amid market uncertainty.
While most AI stocks collapsed, Apple shares gained 3%, with analysts citing its edge AI advantage and earnings resilience:
“If DeepSeek truly lowers the cost of AI inferencing and better models are developed faster and cheaper, Apple, as the ultimate edge device maker, stands to benefit.”
BofA analysts see several key catalysts for AAPL:
While AI-driven uncertainty caused a sharp sell-off, analysts see opportunities beyond AI hyperscalers.
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