HSBC: Anthropic IPO May Shape Markets More Than U.S. Midterms

According to Jin10, HSBC strategist Max Kettner, one of the few Wall Street strategists to turn cautious before Thursday’s sharp U.S. stock selloff, said a potential Anthropic IPO could have a greater impact than the U.S. midterm elections. Two weeks ago, Kettner downgraded his equity rating from the highest level of overweight to neutral. He said the overall narrative around the technology sector had turned unfavorable, regardless of how technology companies arrange their capital spending. Despite this week’s sharp technology-stock selloff, he said the fundamentals of the AI trade had not been damaged. After the midterms, Kettner remained cautious and questioned how much market risk the election had removed, given that investors had done little to hedge against it. He said a potential Anthropic IPO in two weeks, if it proceeds as scheduled, could be the event that truly removes market risk; the ideal outcome, he said, would be for the IPO to go ahead on schedule.