Baird’s Mayfield Discusses Market Resilience Amid AI Weakness on CNBC (2025-12-30)

On December 30, 2025, Baird’s Investment Strategist Ross Mayfield joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to discuss market resilience amid AI weakness, a key theme heading into 2026 [1]. The AI weakness referenced aligns with recent declines in NVIDIA (NVDA), a bellwether for AI hardware, which closed down 1.21% on 12-30 following earlier drops (2.93% on 12-17) amid rumors of 2026 GPU price jumps [0][2]. The NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC), heavily weighted toward tech/AI stocks, fell 1.91% on 12-17 [0]. However, the broader market demonstrated resilience: the NASDAQ recovered with gains on subsequent days (0.80% 12-19, 0.66% 12-23, 0.25% 12-29) [0], and the technology sector remained up 0.32% on 12-30 despite declines in healthcare (-0.53%) and consumer cyclical (-0.36%) sectors [0]. Mayfield noted a sentiment shift where investors are prioritizing broader market breadth over sole reliance on AI momentum [1].

1. Sentiment Transition
   : Investors are moving beyond AI sector momentum to evaluate broader market resilience, indicating a potential shift in market leadership [1].
2. Technology Sector Relative Strength
   : Despite AI weakness, the tech sector outperformed other major sectors on 12-30, suggesting underlying strength beyond AI-specific stocks [0].
3. AI Volatility Drivers
   : Rumors of GPU price jumps and AI bubble concerns contribute to short-term volatility in leading AI stocks like NVDA [2].

• Risks
  : Continued AI sector volatility from bubble fears and supply chain rumors; potential narrow market breadth if resilience isn’t supported by broader sector participation; 2026 policy/economic factors (interest rates, regulation) could overshadow AI trends [0][2].
• Opportunities
  : Broader market breadth could signal a more sustainable rally; tech sector strength beyond AI may present opportunities, though careful monitoring is warranted [0].

• NVIDIA (NVDA) price range (12-15 to 12-30): $170.94–$192.69; 12-30 close: $188.22 (-1.21% day-over-day) [0].
• NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC) price range (12-15 to 12-29): $22,692.00–$23,665.15; 12-29 close: $23,474.35 (+0.25% day-over-day) [0].
• Technology sector 12-30 performance: +0.32% [0].