From software to trucking, here are all the stock sectors that have been gripped by AI panic

• AI panic has spread to a handful of disparate sectors of the stock market in the last week.
• Major stock indexes are on track for a losing week amid the selling pressure.
• Software, real estate, and trucking were among the affected areas.

AI panic has spread quickly across the stock market in the last week.

With each new update to the AI toolbox, investors have been forced to pick winners and dump losers in real time. It started with software last week, with the most dramatic repricing in the space in nearly 30 years, erasing $2 trillion in market cap.

But the fear has since spread.

In a development seemingly out of left field on Thursday, a company that used to make karaoke machines sent trucking stocks tumbling after it published a paper boasting its AI technology could improve shipping logistics.

Markets have been aware of AI risks, but fear of how the technology could disrupt the business world appears to be reaching a fever pitch amid a constant barrage of updates and new tools.

Major indexes wavered on Friday after a cooler-than-expected inflation report, on track for another losing week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was on track to end the week 1% lower.

Here's where AI panic is being felt in the stock market.

Software stocks

A historic sell-off in software kicked off the market's weeklong AI freakout. The sector saw $2 trillion of market cap erased in a matter of days last week, the largest non-recessionary drawdown in the space in 30 years.

Investors began to fear that AI could pose an existential threat to software giants after Antropic unveiled new plugins for its Claude Cowork agent. A move down that began in legal-software stocks spilled into the wider sector.

The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF is down 1% for the week, and has plunged 20% year-to-date.

Here were some of the top movers in the sector this week:

• AppLoving Corp: -13%
• Cisco Systems: -11%
• Palantir: -6%

Insurance brokers and wealth managers

Brokerages and wealth managers were next to enter the line of fire.

Insurers' stocks took a hit on Monday. Wealth managers like LPL Financial, Charles Schwab, and Raymond James then faced heavy selling pressure a day later after tech firm Altruist unveiled a new AI tool it said could help clients with tax planning "within minutes."

Investors fear that AI capabilities could eat into margins among firms that provide similar fiduciary services, such as wealth and estate planning.

The iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF is down 6% this week.

Here were some of the top movers in the sector this week:

• LPL Financial: -14%
• Charles Schwab: -9%
• Raymond James: -8%
• Aon PLC: -6%
• Willis Towers Watson: -13%

Real estate

Real estate firms started to sell-off on Thursday as investors pondered how AI could disrupt client services provided by big firms.

Here were some of the top movers in the sector this week:

• CBRE: -19%
• Jones Lang LaSalle: -17%
• SL Green Realty: -11%

Trucking

Finally, there's trucking. The sector got slammed on Thursday, not by Anthropic or another AI titan, but by…a former karaoke machine maker.

Algorhythm Holdings, which used to do business as Singing Machine, published a white paper boasting of its new AI freight-scaling tool, which it says could improve logistics efficiency.

The iShares US Transportation ETF is down 3% for the week. Meanwhile, shares of Algorythm spiked more than 30%, exiting penny-stock territory to trade around $1.25 Friday morning.

Here were some of the top movers in the sector this week:

• RXO: -24%
• CH Robinson: -15%
• JB Hunt Transportation: -4%