Hedge fund bets and AI jitters rock luxury stocksReuters, PARIS and LONDONAs luxury companies like LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Gucci owner Kering SA struggle to recover from a two-year slowdown, they are navigating increasingly sharp share price swings stoked by hedge fund bets and investor nerves over artificial intelligence (AI)-rattled markets. In addition, recent broader AI-related selloffs on the US stock market risk dampening the spending power of high-end consumers, while hedge funds’ wagers on luxury stocks are exacerbating price moves. Luxury stocks and the wider consumer discretionary sector were among the most shorted going into this results season, according to hedge fund data provider Hazeltree. “Two factors are driving the volatility in luxury stocks like Kering,” said Michael Oliver Weinberg, a hedge fund investor and special adviser to the Tokyo University of Science Endowment. Kering CEO De Meo has said the stock market is a barometer for Americans’ luxury spending and flagged an AI market correction as a risk for European luxury groups.

Source: Taipei Times February 17, 2026 17:15 UTC