Software stocks to mark biggest two-month gain since November 2002
BUZZ-Software stocks to mark biggest two-month gain since November 2002 ** S&P 1500 Software & Services Index .SPLRCIS set for biggest two-month gain since November 2002, reflecting rebound in sector previously viewed as vulnerable to AI disruption
** SPLRCIS up nearly 13% this month and along with July's gains, index is up nearly 28%; strong quarterly report from Microsoft MSFT.O last month placated imminent AI-disruption worries
** Reflecting broader rotation into software from hardware manufacturers, Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index .SOX up 1.8% in August
** Data analytics company S3 Research says software rally also driven by hedge funds covering short positions in sector, while active ownership has jumped to 12-month high
** Cybersecurity stocks among strong gainers after OpenAI agent intrusion into Hugging Face systems last month, upbeat CrowdStrike CRWD.O forecasts
** "Agentic AI has widened the attack surface faster than enterprises can defend it, and security budgets are being written against that gap," Yardeni Research says
** Palo Alto PANW.O, Fortinet FTNT.O shares more than doubled in value YTD, while CrowdStrike up 93% this year
** Cybersecurity Exchange-Traded Funds by Global X BUG.O, First Trust CIBR.O up 13% and 7%, respectively, in August
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sudeshna Ghoshal in Bengaluru)