Stocks Halt Selloff; Iran, Israel Exchange Missile Strikes

Sikander Rashid of Brookfield Asset Management discusses the strong underlying demand for AI infrastructure despite recent market volatility. He emphasizes that Brookfield is building the 'body' of AI (land, power, data centers) for top tech firms and sovereigns, not speculating. He sees the recent tech sell-off as a healthy correction and remains bullish on long-term AI infrastructure investment, particularly in Europe and the UK, citing France's nuclear power as a key advantage.

Yields

implicit

RUT

inferred

Metals

USD

Brookfield 8.5
Asset Manager $900.00B
Sikander Rashid 9.0

Stocks Halt Selloff; Iran, Israel Exchange Missile Strikes | Bloomberg Brief 6/8/2026

ndx

Rashid views the recent tech sell-off as a healthy correction after a large run-up, not a structural change. He emphasizes strong underlying demand for AI infrastructure and positive ROI from major tech firms, suggesting a medium-term bullish outlook for the tech-heavy NDX.

wti

Rashid mentions that due to Middle East tensions, there is an expectation of slightly higher inflation, which will have some impact on short-term interest rate curves. This implies an expectation of upward pressure on oil prices in the short term.

Tom Mackenzie

Asks about anxiety regarding the AI bubble and whether it is bursting, given recent public market volatility.
Sikander Rashid

Acknowledges the recent sell-off (S&P down 2.5%, Nasdaq down 4%, Philly Semi down 10%) but views it as a healthy correction after an 80% run-up in the semiconductor index this year. The underlying demand for AI infrastructure remains very strong, with genuine bottlenecks in semiconductor manufacturing and power.
Tom Mackenzie

Asks how convinced Brookfield is that the end user will see a return on investment, and on what timeframe.
Sikander Rashid

Brookfield has strong conviction because they are building the backbone of AI for the best technology firms and sovereign governments with the best credit ratings. They are not spending capital speculatively; they invest with counterparties over the long term and get a return on capital over the contract term. Their capital is insulated from any AI bubble.
Tom Mackenzie

Asks if semiconductors are still cyclical.
Sikander Rashid

Semiconductors have always been cyclical with GDP linkage, but the current cycle is different due to the transformational nature of AI, which is expected to require $10 trillion of CapEx over the next 10 years. Demand for semiconductors will be quite strong for the next few years.
Tom Mackenzie

Asks about the attractiveness of Europe and the UK as investment destinations, given energy costs and constraints.
Sikander Rashid

The US-China AI race has been dominant because all large-scale AI models are American or Chinese. The UK and Europe do not have a large-scale LLM or a hyperscaler. However, the next wave of AI will be inference (application/revenue), not training (R&D). Due to local data sovereignty laws, Europe needs its own local compute, creating an enormous runway for building inference capacity.
Tom Mackenzie

Asks about the potential constraint of higher interest rates on investment decisions.
Sikander Rashid

Does not expect higher interest rates to have a material impact. Rates are still relatively low historically. Brookfield invests in assets for 15-30 years and takes a long-term view, looking past short-term noise like inflation or interest rate moves.
Tom Mackenzie

Asks for specific numbers on investment commitments in the UK over the next few years.
Sikander Rashid

Brookfield is one of the largest international investors in the UK with over £70 billion in AUM across real estate, power, infrastructure, and credit. They remain bullish on the UK and expect to double the size of their business there over the next five years. Political uncertainty is not a headwind.
Tom Mackenzie

Asks which European countries are the most attractive investment destinations for AI infrastructure.
Sikander Rashid

For AI infrastructure, France is one of the best destinations due to its abundant nuclear power and an administration focused on European independence and self-sufficiency in technology and infrastructure. Brookfield recently increased its commitment to French AI infrastructure from €20 billion to €30 billion.

SignalTube

markets at a glance