RBC BlueBay sees casino psyche gripping chip stocks

Binaya Dahal

Journalist

7 July 2026

The spending in artificial intelligence-linked chip stocks is beginning to resemble the behaviour seen in casino, according to Mark Dowding, chief investment officer of RBC BlueBay Asset Management.

In a weekly market commentary, the fixed income CIO at the $153 billion Canadian asset manager said investors have become increasingly driven by sentiment-led speculation even as the AI boom continues to underpin United States economic growth.

“It is hard not to look at what is happening to chip stocks in recent weeks as a form of casino-type speculative investing,” Dowding said.

“In societies addicted to smartphones it seems that we have all become addicted to short-term dopamine hits and, in the US, it seems that this is something which Trump has been able to understand and use to his advantage.”

While suppliers of AI infrastructure have continued to outperform, he noted that some hyperscale technology companies funding the investment have begun to lag the broader market as investors weigh the cost of their aggressive spending programmes.

“Ultimately, this could suggest that we reach a point where one of the Mag-7 announces a cut in AI spend and this causes their stock price to rise, which could well see others follow in their wake,” Dowding said.

“However, we are not hearing anything from corporate executives, just yet, which might lead us to conclude that we have reached such a turning point. Consequently, it seems reasonable to extrapolate more of the same in the U.S. economy, for the time being.”

Dowding said the uninterrupted build-out of AI infrastructure was also creating broader economic consequences.

“Last week’s 20% price rise from Apple and a similar move from Microsoft’s Xbox, on higher chip costs, are instructive. Given how widely we rely on chips in so many products these days, this may speak to wider cost pressures across global supply chains,” he said.

Beyond markets, Dowding said United States’ everlasting resistant to redistributive tax policies could pose risks if AI accelerates the wealth concentration in the country. 

“Stagnating real incomes for many ordinary Americans risks more politically extreme outcomes, in an age where bias is confirmed through social media and values such as respect and tolerance appear to be on the decline,” he said.

“Many of the challenges faced by the U.S. require sound policy making with a sufficiently long-term perspective. Yet we seem to inhabit a world increasingly focused upon shorter-term payoffs and this is only too true in financial markets.”