Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on February 11, 2026 in New York City, USA.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Artificial intelligence is having its moment. And in the market, that usually means someone is having a tough week.
The latest victims of this technology are real estate, trucking and logistics stocks, along with financial stocks and software-as-a-service stocks, which are plummeting on concerns about AI.
Office towers could soon be empty as AI replaces workers, according to Elon Musk, who commented on a podcast last week. This was echoed in an essay by Matt Schumer, co-founder and CEO of OtherSide AI, who argued that AI could eliminate entry-level, white-collar jobs. If fewer people go to work, fewer leases will be signed.
In freight transport, the pressure has become more tangible. AI companies Algorithm Holdings has released a tool that it claims will allow operators to expand cargo volumes by 300% to 400% without hiring more employees. This outlook was enough to send trucking and logistics stocks plummeting.
“We believe investors are moving away from high-fee, labor-intensive business models that are seen as potentially vulnerable to disruption by AI,” Jade Rahmani, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said in a note Wednesday.
Not all balance sheets are at risk. Japanese Softbank announced that it added $4.2 billion in value to its OpenAI investment, increasing its Vision Fund by $2.4 billion in the December quarter.
AI was also a centerpiece of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s 2026 budget announcement. The city-state will launch a National AI Council to support companies looking to leverage AI and offer six months of free access to advanced AI tools to citizens who take select courses.
Separately, CK Hutchinson Holdings The company announced on Thursday that it would take “legal action” against APM Terminals, an affiliate of the Danish shipping giant. maerskwhen taking over operations at the ports of Balboa or Cristobal in Panama. A subsidiary of CK Hutchinson currently operates these ports, but Panama’s Supreme Court recently ruled to invalidate the company’s license, a move widely seen as a victory for the Trump administration.
—CNBC’s Michelle Fox, Sarah Ming, Lim Hui Jie and Anique Bao contributed to this report.
