US stocks "Fully Bullish" is here? Citi: The second wave of "AI Technology Boom" will boost the entire market

According to Dolphin Research APP, Citigroup strategist Scott Chronert stated that the breakthrough of the first wave of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has boosted the stock prices of companies at the center of this trend, such as NVIDIA (NVDA.US). And the second wave of this trend will uplift the entire market.

From the 19th-century railways to the development of the internet, this is a familiar pattern of technological innovation. However, when it comes to artificial intelligence, Chronert believes that its development speed is relatively fast. He said that within just two years, artificial intelligence may become deeply rooted in a wide range of business operations, increasing revenue by saving costs and improving productivity.

In an interview, Chronert stated, "We believe that a trend is accelerating on a broader scale, with the majority of American companies utilizing AI technology to better manage their businesses in real-time. This actually means less revenue volatility and even fewer cyclical fluctuations. Overall, this brings new growth opportunities to the market, which we haven't seen for some time."

The excitement surrounding artificial intelligence has been a key pillar supporting the rise of the US stock market this year, making NVIDIA the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 index. NVIDIA's stock price has doubled as the company benefits from selling high-performance computer chips to companies investing in AI technology. Despite the overall market stagnating due to concerns about the pace of growth and further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index has still risen by approximately 37% this year. On Monday, the S&P 500 index saw consecutive gains for the first time this month, with NVIDIA being one of the main driving forces behind the increase.

Wall Street investment banks remain optimistic about the potential applications of artificial intelligence and are busy predicting which areas of the stock market will benefit from it. For example, Goldman Sachs strategists expect significant increases in earnings per share for the companies they track that are likely to benefit the most from this new technology.

According to Chronert, the release of first-quarter earnings reports prompted companies to enter various AI-related fields after several major companies, such as Microsoft (MSFT.US) and Amazon (AMZN.US), announced plans to deploy artificial intelligence. However, in the second quarter, attention shifted to how this impact could be felt on a broader scale, laying the foundation for its appearance in a wider range of stock prices.

Chronert raised his year-end target for the S&P 500 index from 4,000 points in early summer to 4,600 points, citing expectations for next year's corporate earnings growth and increasing optimism about the Federal Reserve's ability to achieve a soft landing for the US economy. At the same time, he admitted that the bank failed to anticipate the surge in tech stocks.

Chronert said that Citigroup's goals include expectations of further market volatility. He said, "When you control expectations, you won't disappoint yourself. When we raise our targets, we are very aware that we want to be more actively positioned for a better opportunity at the end of the year."