COLUMNISTS Some day, the tech sector will be cyclical, and silicon chips will obey the same economic rules as forklift trucks, rising and falling with the economy.
But that moment has not arrived, and markets still rely on the sector not just as a vehicle for growth but as a defensive redoubt. Since hitting bottom in November, US tech stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 by 20.8 per cent, and beaten (cyclical) industrial stocks by 32.8 per cent. Since the S&P 500’s recent peak last month, tech has held steady, joined only by healthcare and consumer staples, classic defensive sectors to protect against a recession.
