pre-market trade.
We are looking at micron shares rallying after its blowout earnings report.
The report racing the latest AI bubble concerns which hit in the markets and the first half of the week.
Well the latest investment survey the to retail investor finds that retail traders share some of those concerns.
Now 28% of traders surveyed calling tech the most overvalued sector which beat out energy.
For the top spot at the same time, retail is sticking with tech for the long term.
One third of investors believe the largest companies integrating AI like Microsoft Alphabet and that will see the strongest returns.
They are also widening their support behind some AI for companies now each playing a factor with Gen Z and millennials bullish on large tech companies to the tune of roughly 40% will join.
We live here at the New York Stock Exchange to weigh in is Brett Campbell, US investment and options analyst for eToro.
Brett, good morning.
Great to have you here.
Thank you so much for joining me.
Yes, thanks for having me back.
Well, it's been quite the first half of 2026, and you're joining us on a day when we're looking at a reversal in terms of some of the AI trade.
So are you surprised by some of the findings here?
Yes and no.
To be honest, I'm actually a little bit relieved to see retail.
Not becoming bearish by any means, but tempering their expectations a bit.
When we did this survey a year ago I asked a very similar question to AI, it was a very bullish response.
A number of respondents expected prices to go up.
Very few bears in that group this year.
The bear camp is still small.
It ticked higher, but it's still relatively small to the overall survey group.
But the number of bulls came in a bit, and they started to kind of look in other places. stability in the meg 7 or megacap tech, and it's interesting when we pair it with some of the other questions like is tech overvalued and what sector is overvalued and tech was sort of the favorite in that group, but it was also the favorite for where would you put your money for the next 5 years of growth.
So it's very much a short term we see this as a little bit overheated.
Long term we still see a great opportunity.
And you've highlighted a lot of key points there, Brett, but we also have to keep in mind that there are geopolitical concerns as well, adding to the volatility in the second quarter of this year as well.
So I do want to get your take on the role of automation when it comes to trading for retail.
Almost a third of respondents said that they don't try to time the market.
They are an automated systematic type of investor.
The dollar cost averaging, that's a great way to participate in the markets and get time in the market.
Rather than timing the market, sometimes timing the market has a great opportunity, but it also has its pitfalls too.
So to see retail sort of taking a more rational approach to it is great to see.
Along those lines.
We actually did ask what type of pullbacks they like to buy that 5 to 10%, 10 to 20%.
It's pretty stable year over year.
The one uptick was in the 5 to 10% group, which sort of shows us that they're becoming more comfortable with this mild range of volatility we see.
Yes, and I do want to expand on what we're seeing when it comes to investing in artificial intelligence.
So when we're looking at the risk reward ratio for the next 5 years, what are you seeing right now?
Yes, it's certainly changed this quarter, hasn't it?
When we look at where we were in end of Q1 March 30th, markets are on the lows, and then we have this 2 month, 2.5 month rally surge really.
And lately we've seen some volatility in the semis space, right? semi memory stocks, obviously Micron doing a lot of heavy lifting today.
But generally speaking, that group's been a little, a little wobbly these last few weeks.
I think we're due for a healthy reset in that space, not a bearish pull, not a, you know, collapse, certainly not a top, but certainly it would be nice to see a little bit of a stabilizing in that space, maybe rotate to the other sectors, give them some love as well.
And Brett, we have less than 60 seconds here.
So what are you seeing when it comes to the generational divide?
Generational divide.
Look, millennials, Gen Z, they're going to love the tech side.
They're going to love AI.
That's where they're they're using it not just for helping pick what stocks to invest in, but how to manage their risk, how to build their portfolios.
I think they're going to stick with this group.
And finally we have time for one more question.
So I do want to get your take on fundamentals.
What are we seeing here?
Yes, so earnings have been so resilient.
We saw that in Q1.
Hopefully we'll hear that again reiterated in Q2.
I think that could give us the sort of the bull catalyst for the second half of the year if earnings remain strong.
Well, Brett, always great having you here.
Thank you so much for joining us.
And as we head into the second half of 2026, we'll see what happens.
So thank you so much for weighing in.
Thank you.
Thank you.
