Jasmine Duan

The speaker states RBC is "overweighting U.S. energy and chemical sector," entered at "very low valuation," and believes they will "benefit from this position" if the war continues. The Iran war has caused an energy crisis, supporting oil prices. US chemical producers have a margin advantage due to reliance on cheaper natural gas versus European/Asian peers. The sector is positioned to be relatively resilient and profitable in a prolonged conflict environment, offering a hedge against ongoing geopolitical risk and energy inflation. A swift and unexpected resolution to the Iran conflict, leading to a rapid normalization of oil prices and a loss of the geopolitical risk premium.

AI memory chip shortages are becoming a critical bottleneck for AI development, driving surging demand and prices; memory chipmakers have strong earnings visibility and still decent valuations, even though the trade has become crowded and hyperscalers may eventually reduce dependency.

AI memory chip shortages are becoming a critical bottleneck for AI development, driving surging demand and prices; memory chipmakers have strong earnings visibility and still decent valuations, even though the trade has become crowded and hyperscalers may eventually reduce dependency.

Maintaining an overweight position on U.S. stocks because earnings growth remains solid, particularly in the tech sector, and the positive outlook justifies the stance despite geopolitical risks and oil price uncertainty.