Tech Hardware, Chips, and Metals lead as Software and Leisure struggle in a volatile, AI‑focused tape

Leadership concentrates in semis, electronics and metals, while rate‑sensitive and AI‑exposed software pockets remain under pressure

IMGELD Executive Summary Date: Feb 18, 2026

Semiconductors, electronics and metals sit at the top of today’s rankings, while software, leisure products and some health care segments lag. Strength is broadly clustered in hardware‑ and commodity‑linked industries, with pockets of weakness where AI‑related volatility, consumer cyclicality and operational headwinds are more acute.

Top 5 Strongest Industries
(Long bias)

1. Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components
   Final Score: 94.34
   Before: #2 → Now: #1
   Why they are strong: Electronic and related mining names are benefiting from surging precious‑metal pricing, with silver miners jumping as the metal holds above the 90 dollar level, which supports demand for high‑value electronic and electrical components tied to these supply chains.
   Key Players: Texas Instruments, TE Connectivity, Keysight Technologies

2. Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
   Final Score: 96.69
   Before: #1 → Now: #2
   Why they are strong: Chipmakers remain at the center of the current market narrative as investors crowd into AI‑linked hardware, even as broader AI jitters pressure other parts of tech.
   Key Players: NVIDIA, Advanced Micro Devices, ASML Holding

3. Metals & Mining
   Final Score: 92.07
   Before: #4 → Now: #3
   Why they are strong: Metals and mining stocks have rallied alongside silver mining names, which recently jumped as silver held above a 90 dollar milestone.
   Key Players: Freeport‑McMoRan, Newmont, Southern Copper

4. Passenger Airlines
   Final Score: 88.29
   Before: #6 → Now: #4
   Why they are strong: Airlines are riding robust travel demand in an environment where broader equity markets are oscillating around AI news and rates, keeping cyclical transportation exposure in focus for investors.
   Key Players: Delta Air Lines, American Airlines Group, United Airlines Holdings

5. Banks
   Final Score: 84.39
   Before: #5 → Now: #5
   Why they are strong: Large banks remain central to shifting credit conditions as new U.S. policy proposals around credit pricing and changing global leveraged finance appetite keep bank funding and fee pools in the spotlight.
   Key Players: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo

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Bottom 5 Weakest Industries
(Short bias)

1. Health Care Providers & Services
   Final Score: 29.85
   Before: #48 → Now: #52
   Why they are weak: Health care service providers face rising technological disruption risk as studies show AI can already automate a meaningful share of U.S. work tasks, adding uncertainty around future business models.
   Key Players: UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, HCA Healthcare

2. Leisure Products
   Final Score: 7.84
   Before: #53 → Now: #53
   Why they are weak: Leisure product makers remain pressured as AI‑related volatility in capital markets and broader macro uncertainty weigh on discretionary spending‑sensitive names.
   Key Players: Hasbro, Mattel, Brunswick

3. Software
   Final Score: 26.65
   Before: #51 → Now: #54
   Why they are weak: U.S. software credits have come under pressure after Morgan Stanley warned that an AI‑led software selloff could pose risks to the 1.5 trillion dollar U.S. credit market, souring sentiment on the group.
   Key Players: Microsoft, Salesforce, ServiceNow

4. Professional Services
   Final Score: 29.44
   Before: #54 → Now: #55
   Why they are weak: Professional services firms are exposed to labor‑substitution risk as new research indicates AI can already replace a significant portion of U.S. workforce tasks.
   Key Players: Accenture, Robert Half, ManpowerGroup

5. Health Care Equipment & Supplies
   Final Score: 26.72
   Before: #55 → Now: #56
   Why they are weak: While select medtech and dental names see pockets of growth, the broader health care equipment space is grappling with uncertainty around procurement policies and pricing in key markets such as China.
   Key Players: Medtronic, Abbott Laboratories, Stryker

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Additional Readings

1. Software: AI‑led software selloff may pose risk for 1.5 trillion dollar U.S. credit market (Reuters, 2026-02-10)
   Article Link

2. Metals & Mining: Silver mining stocks jump as metal holds above 90 dollar milestone (CNBC, 2026-01-14)
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3. Capital Markets / Cross‑asset backdrop: Stocks gyrate on AI jitters, gold slides as US‑Iran talks progress (Reuters, 2026-02-17)
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4. Biotechnology: Making U.S. biotech more competitive with China could help rare disease patients, experts say (CNBC, 2026-01-16)
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5. Banks: Bank of Ireland to pull back from US leveraged finance market (Bloomberg, 2026-02-18)
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6. Media / Interactive Media: Musk’s AI chatbot Grok gains US market share amid sexualized images backlash (Reuters, 2026-02-13)
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7. Aerospace & Defense: Global defense stocks advance after Trump calls for higher US military budget (Reuters, 2026-01-08)
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8. Professional Services / Health Care Technology: MIT study finds AI can already replace 11.7 percent of U.S. workforce (CNBC, 2025-11-26)
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9. Consumer Finance: How Trump’s proposed cap on credit card rates could reshape consumer lending (Reuters, 2026-01-15)
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10. Pharmaceuticals / Health Care Equipment: Straumann forecasts 2026 growth despite China procurement uncertainty (Reuters, 2026-02-18)
    Article Link