Bank of America: AI agent drives up server CPU capacity—funds are exiting tech single-name stocks

On July 23, Bank of America Research released its latest report. With Nvidia rolling out the Vera CPU architecture, it will subsequently form direct competition with AMD in the next-generation AI server platform. Institutional predictions suggest that by 2030, the potential market size for server CPUs could reach $170 billion, about four times the current scale.
Bank of America maintains a bullish rating on Nvidia, with a target price of $350. The institutions believe the industry’s competitive logic has already changed; it is no longer simply about trading off the performance of a single chip. The competitive focus is on evaluation standards for AI workloads: whether to prioritize faster processing speed for individual tasks, or to accommodate more tasks within the same hardware capacity.
As this view was released, AI-related equities were in a phase of rapid share turnover. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index had previously fallen more than 20% from its peak and entered a technical correction range, after which the sector saw a rebound and repair rally. On Tuesday, U.S. stocks rose led by Micron and Nvidia; the Nasdaq gained 1.3%. On Wednesday, oil prices rose while U.S. Treasury yields moved higher, cooling risk appetite in the market. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq fell 0.6%, with large and persistent volatility in the AI sector continuing to weigh on the broader market.
Fund flows also show clear divergence. Bank of America’s fund-monitoring data shows that clients have been net buying U.S. equities for three consecutive weeks, but the purchasing power is mainly driven by retail investors and index funds. Last week, the market saw net purchases of $3.4 billion in equity index products, while a single stock experienced $3.1 billion in outflows; retail investors posted the largest scale of net inflows in a single week since May 2025. Institutional funds have remained net inflows for three straight weeks, but almost all of the money flowed through index funds. Hedge funds, meanwhile, are selecting to trim holdings for the second consecutive week.
In terms of sector flows, the tech sector saw its first outflow in nearly three weeks, and the communication services sector has been withdrawing funds for three straight weeks. Money has started moving into the discretionary consumer, financials, and energy sectors. Mid- and small-cap stocks have attracted the most attention; the four-week average inflow for related names hit the highest level since data began.
Over the long term, Bank of America is optimistic about the server CPU segment’s development prospects, supporting the growth logic for Nvidia, AMD, and the entire AI hardware industry chain. However, the data on fund flows is also sending signals: market trading thinking has shifted. Investors are no longer broadly allocating to the AI space; instead, they are starting to screen for companies that can produce real orders, stable profits, and cash flow. #财经 #股市 #美股