Hello everyone. Welcome to the Smart Market Insights here on Kalkine TV. I am Sage and
today we will be shining some light on Trends that will lead global tech space in 2022 and beyond
Publicly listed tech firms worldwide found themselves in a tight spot in 2022 as concerns
over rising inflation and interest rates kept investors on tenterhooks. The tech companies
have seen their share prices fall in the first couple of weeks of the ongoing year.
ASX-listed tech stocks have declined, taking weak cues from their US peers. The
NASDAQ 100 Technology index, which includes major players such as Apple,
Microsoft, and Alphabet, lost 12 percent of its value in the first 21 days of the year.
On 24 January 2022, Australia's technology stocks dropped to an eight-month low,
losing 1.6 percent after Wall Street's tech rout in the last session. Zip Co,
Xero and mmm Appen were among the major losers.
What is driving the fall?
The US market traded on an uncertain note in the early days of the year as investors cautiously
await potential hawkish signals by the US Federal Reserve at a policy meeting on January 25-26.
Investors expect the meeting to confirm that Fed may soon start draining the
massive amount of liquidity that has boosted growth stocks in the past few years.
Markets overwhelmingly expect a 0.25 percent rate hike in March and three more by the year-end.
Tech stocks have faced more pressure than others as higher bond yields make their often-far-off
future earnings look less attractive.
In such a scenario, investors look for so-called value stocks such as banks,
whose prospects are linked closely with the economy, inflation, and interest rates.
In Australia, domestic consumer price figures and more hawkish Fed could also set the stage
for the Reserve Bank of Australia meeting next week. It may end its bond-buying in
February and reinforce market wagers for a hike as soon as May or June.
Australia's official interest rate is currently sitting
at 0.10 percent a historic low. RBA has not increased the cash rate since November 2010.
After looking at why tech stocks are on the decline, we move on to the trends that will
dominate the global tech space In 2022 and beyond. Let us start with number one.
Metaverse
Not yet familiar with the Metaverse ecosystem?
The year 2022 will make it easier for you to understand this concept
as the year will witness significant developments in the trending tech feature.
Gaining popularity as "the digital twin of the universe", the Metaverse
can be understood as a digital environment for communication between interconnected networks.
It is defined as a three-dimensional virtual space being created for people to build assets,
have elevated virtual experience, and earn massive capital through digital resources.
Top firms from across the world have amplified their focus on building the meta world. Among
early builders, we have Facebook, which renamed its social networking platform Facebook as Meta.
5G Technology
Developments in 5G technology are sure to accelerate in 2022. The 5G landscape
will expand to offer the 5G network, 5G devices, and 5G services in the future.
A more significant number of 5G standalone networks is set to be launched by operators
to deliver a better 5G experience to consumers. It will ensure uninterrupted
network connection at incredible speeds with a high-standard quality of service.
Artificial Intelligence
The year 2022 is expected to be a transformational
year for artificial intelligence, marking significant developments in technology.
Giant tech firms are working to evolve on modern data pipelines,
robotic process automation, supply chain applications and GPT-3 large
language model to make artificial intelligence more user friendly.
Drone
Drone technology has gained much popularity in recent years. From delivering goods
to aerial surveillance, drones have found applications in almost all spheres of work.
Still, autonomous technology has excellent potential to be unsheathed
and utilised and generate a more comprehensive range of unmanned services across sectors.
Cryptocurrency
What started as an alternate medium of exchange with much criticism and
less acceptance, cryptocurrencies dominate the mainstream with rising demand globally.
The digital currency has pulled in a considerable number of investors for
its potential of generating outstanding returns. It is anticipated to evolve
as a more sustainable legal tender for a more significant population share in the year ahead.
Well, that’s all for now. We will be back again with the exclusive Smart
Market Insights show. Till then, keep watching
Kalkine TV for the latest market updates and related insights. I am Sage, signing off.