On August 18, Caterpillar declined 3.18% in regular trading, trading at $854.01/share with turnover of $408 million, reversing earlier session gains. The decline was triggered by investment bank Baird downgrading the stock, citing growing anti-data center political sentiment across the United States.

According to market reports, New York State's moratorium on new large data center construction was among the key factors behind Baird's downgrade. As data center developers have become major buyers of Caterpillar's power generation equipment, the stock has become closely tied to the AI infrastructure trade. Bank of America strategists warned that if Democrats gain control of the Senate and certain state governorships, US equities could face a correction exceeding 10%. Morgan Stanley noted that community opposition to data centers is intensifying and policy actions are accelerating ahead of midterm elections. The broader Construction Machinery & Heavy Trucks sector also weakened, with Cummins down 2.21%, PACCAR down 1.51%, and Terex down 2.02%.

(The above content is based on publicly available market information, generated by a program or algorithm, and is intended solely as a stock movement alert. It does not constitute investment advice or a basis for trading decisions.)