Retail investors bet on AI chips as electronics exports near double

Tech now makes up 57% of portfolios as OpenAI and Anthropic eye stock market listings.

Semiconductor and chipmaker firms emerged as retail investors’ top pick for capturing artificial intelligence (AI)-led gains, with 68% confident in the local economy amidst a near 95% surge in electronics exports.

Large technology platforms integrating AI followed at 39%, whilst specialised AI-first companies were cited by 35% of investors, according to an eToro report.

It showed 51% of investors expect AI-related stock prices to increase this year, up from 49% in the first quarter (Q1).

Technology also stayed as the top intended investment sector for the fourth straight quarter, with tech holdings rising to 57% from 54% in Q4 2025.

The sentiment comes as electronics non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose 94.8% year-on-year in May, accelerating from 66.7% in April, as shipments of integrated circuits, disk media, and PCs rose amidst AI-led demand.

The broader economy has remained firm, with the official growth forecast kept at 2% to 4% this year after GDP expanded 6% in the first quarter, exceeding an earlier estimate of 5.8%.

Economists in the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s June survey trimmed their 2026 growth projection to 3.5% from 3.6%. Nomura, however, expects the economy to grow 4.6%, after overall NODX rose 38.4% in May.

“The sector had a remarkable run, and that held even against a backdrop of tariff noise and geopolitical uncertainty,” said Zavier Wong, eToro market analyst.

“With SpaceX freshly listed and OpenAI and Anthropic both signalling public debuts later this year, there is a visible pipeline coming to market that will continue to attract investor attention,” Wong added.

Meanwhile, more than half, or 58%, of respondents kept their portfolios steady in the second quarter, whilst 36% increased their allocations despite global market volatility. Only 6% reduced exposure.

Geopolitical risks remained the top external concern, although worries eased from the previous quarter. About 26% cited international conflict as the biggest external risk to their investments, down from 34% in the first quarter.

International conflict is now nearly level with other major risks, with 25% citing the state of the global economy and 24% pointing to inflation as their biggest external concern.

Only 35% were confident in the global economy.

“Investors have moved past the initial shock of geopolitical disruption and are now repositioning around the opportunities emerging in its wake,” Wong said.

The survey was conducted by Opinium from 14 to 29 May, covering 11,000 retail investors across 13 countries, including 1,000 respondents in Singapore.