An expert suggests holding back on semiconductor stocks. Assuming an era in which the Nikkei 225 reaches ¥70,000, AI, energy, biotechnology and space are identified as the 4 fields expected to grow in the future.
Amid expectations that the Japanese market will continue to perform strongly, Masayuki Kubota (窪田 真之), chief strategist at the Rakuten Securities Economic Research Institute, identified 4 fields that warrant attention as future growth-stock sectors. They are AI, energy, biotechnology and space. He explained that companies satisfying criteria including high market growth potential, high market share and high barriers to entry have value as growth stocks.
In the AI sector, attention is expected to focus not only on companies developing AI but also on stocks of companies providing the infrastructure that supports it. Kubota said that the spread of data centers and cloud services would drive demand for semiconductors, optical components, and power transmission and distribution networks. At the same time, he suggested that share-price gains in AI agent-related companies, which use AI to create new businesses, have so far been limited.
Kubota said that the real strength of Japanese companies lies in the AI agent sector, where AI is integrated into actual businesses. He indicated that, alongside hardware-led growth, fields that implement AI to create new value would become increasingly important.
In summary, assuming further gains in the Nikkei 225, AI, energy, biotechnology and space were identified as the 4 fields likely to produce future growth stocks. The view was expressed that high barriers to entry and the potential for monetization will be key to their investment value.