Detecting AI narrative shifts: GEMs Equity Strategy

Research evidence excerpt

Detecting AI narrative shifts: GEMs Equity Strategy

29 July 2026

Detecting AI narrative shifts EquityEmergingStrategyMarkets

GEMs Equity Strategy

◆ We develop a clustering model to identify the dominant Alastair Pinder, CFA

AI narratives in the market… Head EM and Global Equity Strategist

HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.

alastair.pinder@us.hsbc.com

◆ … and track the importance of these themes over time… +1 212 525 5972

◆ … which allows us to assess how EM equity markets perform MarkHead McDonaldof AI and Data Science

and rotate as the narrative shifts HSBC Bank plc

mark.mcdonald@hsbcib.com

+44 20 7991 3119

Equities and market internals have swung sharply through 2026 as investors jump Pankaj Agarwala*, CFA

between competing AI narratives. Moonshot’s launch of Kimi K3 on 16 July and reports EM and Global Equity Strategist

HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Private

of DUVi competition from mainland China (Reuters, 27 July 2026) were the latest Limited

catalysts to revive concerns about competition, while Q2-26 hyperscaler earnings results pankajagarwala@hsbc.co.in +91 0 80 30013716

have increased the scrutiny on capex monetization. With volatility in the AI complex amid

Allison Buck

a positioning unwind, we assess how EM equity markets and sectors have performed EM Equity Strategist

across different AI scenarios and which areas could benefit from a rotation. We launch allison.buck@us.hsbc.com

a model that identifies which AI narrative global equities are attaching to. Specifically, we +1 212 525 4119

use a clustering model to find patterns within hyperscaler, semis, SaaS and China internet

relative returns, hyperscaler CDS spreads and the pairwise correlations between them * Employed by a non-US affiliate of HSBC Securities (USA) Inc, and is