The AI trade isn’t just about tech anymore — it’s about all stocks. In this episode of In the Money with Amber Kanwar, Kim Bolton, President & Portfolio Manager at Black Swan Dexteritas, argues we’re entering the next phase of the AI cycle, where the winners won’t just be the companies building the technology — but the ones using it to drive real earnings. As he puts it, investors need to rethink what a “tech stock” even is.
Looking to invest in high-quality companies without high fees? The HAMILTON CHAMPIONS™ suite of ETFs offers exposure to diversified portfolios of equity champions across tech, financials, utilities, and dividend strategies, all with a low 0.19% management fee, designed to help you stay invested with confidence for the long term. For more information on the HAMILTON CHAMPIONS™ suite, visit: www.hamiltonetfs.com/hamilton-
With three Easter egg hunts under our belt, the kids are sufficiently filled with confection. On cue, one child is home sick. It’s only a matter of time before the rest fall. After two weeks of March Break, followed immediately by a four-day long weekend, I’d say another full week at home is right on schedule.
Here are five things to know:
Deadline: US stocks are indicating a weaker open ahead of the deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire by 8pm tonight. The deadline has been moved many times by US President Donald Trump so we will see if this one holds. This morning there are reports the US has hit Kharg Island – where 90% of crude oil ships from. Oil prices are surging to $115/bl, the highest level since 2022. Against this backdrop the S&P 500 is only down 5% from the all-time high in January. The TSX has fared better, down 4% from the record high. Under the hood there are more breakdowns, but it is interesting that we aren’t yet at a major correction for the market given the dramatic move higher in crude prices. Is the market being willfully ignorant or being rational? Deutsche Bank’s Henry Allen argues it is rational. The market is still pricing out a short term shock when you look out to the forward prices of crude oil, data has remained resilient and central banks haven’t turned hawkish argues Allen. This is contrast to the 2022 oil shock when it occurred as central banks were increasing rates. “But even if those pillars gave way and we ended up with a bigger selloff, it’s worth noting that in most big oil shocks of recent decades, the selloffs were followed by a reasonably swift recovery,” he concluded.
Always be closing: Shares of Broadcom are rallying 3% in the pre-market after inking deals with Alphabet and Anthropic to supply chips. Broadcom will supply tensor processing units (TPUs – the kind of chips used for accelerating AI and machine learning tasks) to Google in a long-term deal through to 2031. Anthropic said that it will work with Google and Broadcom to power its growing operations. Citi’s Atif Malik says the deal is “just what the doctor ordered” in a note to clients. ” AVGO previously expected compute demand to approach ~10GW in 2027 and had line of sight to achieve AI revenue of $100 billion in 2027,” wrote Malik, “Given this announcement, we see upside to AVGO’s AI revenue target of $100 billion to +$130 billion assuming our prior Google sales of $65.4 billion in (2027).” Shares of Nvidia are down 1.3% in the pre-market on the competitive threat.
Healing power: Health insurers are surging in the pre-market after the Trump administration announced higher than expected Medicare Advantage payment rate for 2027. Medicare Advantage is the private insurance system for seniors and the disabled. The rate will rise 2.48% which is well above the 0.09% telegraphed in January. Art of the deal, I suppose. Shares of Humana (+10%), UnitedHealth (+7%), CVS (+7%), and Elevance (+6%) are all higher on the news. Those stocks all plunged in January when the preliminary rate was announced. Humana fell 21% that day and is down 35% from the January peak.
Drug deal: Gilead announced it is buying a private German cancer biotech company in a $5 billion deal. Tubulis is developing antibody based drugs that are delivered right inside cancerous tumors. This is Gilead’s third major deal this year alone. So far this year biotech has been hot for M&A with nearly $40 billion in deals announced. Rather than blockbuster deals, it has taken the form of small tuck-in deals, usually $10 billion and under.
Notable call: Barrick is being downgraded at ATB Cormark after announcing it would be slowing development at its embattled Pakistani mine – Reko Diq. Investors have not loved this asset given the proximity to Iran and Afghanistan. It was a project “pushed hard” by former CEO Mark Bristow, said Gray, but management is focused on unlocking value in Nevada. “While we like the move to slow down activities at Reko Diq, we are downgrading our rating to Sector Perform (from Outperform) given the continued struggles to lower costs (Q1/26 expected to be weak) and the uncertainty as to what this company looks like a year from now with the North American IPO slated for later this year, and the lack of clarity on how the transformational Fourmile asset is incorporated into the Nevada JV,” wrote Gray, “While Barrick remains undervalued (0.82x NAV), we believe there are better opportunities elsewhere in the gold sector.”
Don’t miss our next episode!
Disclaimer:
“Commissions, management fees, and expenses all may be associated with investments in exchange traded funds (ETFs) managed by Hamilton ETFs. Please read the prospectus before investing. ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated.”
