Trucking, real estate stocks struggle to gain momentum after becoming latest victims of AI fears

Investors are feeling the pressure as they approach the final trading day of the week, following renewed concerns regarding artificial intelligence that have once again unsettled equity markets. This latest wave of anxiety has particularly affected the logistics and real estate sectors, leading to a substantial sell-off. On Thursday, logistics stocks faced a significant downturn, driven by the introduction of a new AI tool from Algorhythm Holdings, named SemiCab, which claims to be 'the world's most well-orchestrated transportation platform.' Major players such as C.H. Robinson and RXO experienced dramatic declines, each plummeting nearly 20% during Thursday’s trading. However, premarket trading on Friday showed a slight recovery for C.H. Robinson, which rose by 0.7%, while RXO continued its downward trend with an additional 1.5% loss. Expeditors International of Washington, which saw a decline of over 16% on Thursday, remained steady in premarket trading, while J.B. Hunt Transportation Services dropped another 0.6% following a 9% loss the previous day. XPO also reported a 1% decrease during the same period. In contrast, Algorhythm's stock surged by 15% in premarket trading after a notable 30% increase the prior day. The commercial real estate sector also struggled, with a sell-off extending into a second day. CBRE faced continued losses, down 0.6% in premarket trading. Other firms like Jones Lang LaSalle and Hudson Pacific Properties also showed marginal declines, following losses of nearly 8% and 4%, respectively, on Thursday. SL Green Realty showed some resilience, rebounding by 0.4% after a 5% drop the day before. Software stocks, which had previously experienced a sharp sell-off, were mixed in Friday's early trading. Palantir Technologies lost an additional 1.5%, while Autodesk and Salesforce saw slight declines of 0.1%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV), which faced a loss of around 3% on Thursday, was down 0.3% in premarket trading, marking a nearly 23% decrease year-to-date. The so-called 'Magnificent Seven' tech stocks all closed lower on Thursday, with Tesla leading the decline at 0.8%, and Nvidia also experiencing a slight dip of 0.1% after earlier showing signs of recovery. In a note released Friday morning, UBS strategists highlighted the potential for AI to transform various industries, urging investors to diversify beyond just the U.S. information technology sector to fully capture AI's beneficiaries. Dan Ives, Global Head of Tech Research at Wedbush Securities, echoed this sentiment in an interview, cautioning that while some software companies might suffer from AI advancements, others like Salesforce and ServiceNow will remain integral to the AI landscape. He characterized the current market dislocation as unprecedented, suggesting a significant miscalculation by Wall Street regarding the impact of AI across the tech sector.