BlockBeats News, July 20th. As the U.S. stock market indexes maintained high-level volatility, bearish sentiment in the market is rapidly building up. Data shows that investors are increasingly concerned about AI investment returns, semiconductor valuations, and the earnings potential of tech giants, causing bearish bets on the U.S. stock market to rise to a historical high.

S3 Partners data shows that short interest in S&P 500 component stocks has reached a near 3.79% of float, hitting the highest level for the firm since 2010; short interest in Russell 3000 index component stocks has also risen to 6.3%, reaching a historical peak.

Analysts state that although shorting the U.S. stock market this year has seen limited overall returns, investors continue to add to their short positions, driven mainly by massive capital expenditure in the AI sector, intensified industry competition, and market uncertainty regarding the commercialization returns of AI.

Meanwhile, Citigroup believes that the traditional "Magnificent Seven" investment framework is breaking down, and AI investment opportunities are shifting from large tech companies to a more widespread "growth cluster."

Citi strategist Scott Chronert suggests that the growth cluster includes large tech stocks and AI infrastructure-related companies, currently accounting for over half of the S&P 500 index and contributing around 48% of the index's earnings. In the future, investors should focus on AI application endpoints and a broader set of growth companies, rather than just concentrating on top companies like NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, and others.

According to data from Goldman Sachs' prime brokerage, hedge funds have been reducing their holdings in U.S. tech stocks at a record pace over the past two months, with 6 out of the past 8 weeks being net sellers in the tech sector. The cumulative value of their holdings has decreased by about 10% during this period, marking the largest scale of reduction in over a decade.

Market observers believe that as AI infrastructure investment enters a new stage, funds may shift from chipmaking, computing power, and other upstream areas to AI application companies. However, future earnings reports and geopolitical risks will remain key factors influencing the direction of the U.S. stock market.