As investors count down to May’s nonfarm payrolls report, the S&P 500 is on track for its longest weekly winning streak since 1985. This comes as Asia’s enthusiastic AI boom appears to be winding down, with South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average ending the week in the red. Here are three investing strategies to cut through the noise, as heard from CNBC’s Singapore and London studios. Risk-reward entry point Timothy Moe, chief Asia-Pacific equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, continues to believe there is room for upside in memory stocks, telling CNBC that stocks in the space are “the star.” But he also highlighted the defense sector, with Mo describing the recent selloff as a natural “technical correction” that presents opportunities for investors. “Fundamentals have improved. All the stocks we’re watching are increasing orders and valuations are attractive, so we think there’s an interesting risk-reward entry point here for that part of the market.”Hyperscaler capex is “no risk” Jean-Louis Nakamura, head of conviction equities at Fontbel, believes the AI boom will continue and told CNBC that hyperscalers will be adjusting their capital spending plans downward in the next 12 to 18 months with “no risk.” He believes the price and revenue trends for chip and memory makers will continue. Nakamura also revealed that Vontobel has selectively strengthened its position within a select few Chinese internet platforms that have been subject to “excessive punishment” in recent months, saying, “We believe that we are in a relatively good position to ultimately monetize AI based on a very large pool of individuals’ private data.” Roger Lee, head of equity strategy at Cavendish, mid-cap stocks, said mid-cap stocks could offer value if oil prices continue to fall as lower energy prices ease pressure on inflation and interest rate expectations. Lee argues that in the US stock market, excluding technology, oil prices have an impact on inflation expectations, which in turn has a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates. “It could be US mid-caps, UK mid-caps, or even European mid-caps. So I think the real value is in the mid-cap space, because it’s so dependent on interest rate expectations. And as I say, as oil prices go down and interest rate expectations go down, mid-cap stocks have generally performed well.”
