LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Hedge funds exited U.S. tech

and media stocks in the two weeks to February 21 at the fastest

pace in six months, according to Goldman Sachs, just as Nvidia ( NVDA )

, one of the biggest tech firms by market

capitalisation, readies to report earnings.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) profit report this week is seen as a bellwether of

the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) industry. The AI and

graphics chipmaker is the world's second most valuable company,

with a 6.3% weight on the S&P 500, according to LSEG. Its

shares have skyrocketed over 550% over the last two years.

Speculators "aggressively" dumped both long and short

positions in AI-related equipment, media, and communications

equipment companies, according to a note sent to Goldman Sachs

clients on Friday.

A short position expects an asset price to fall while a

long, or bullish, position expects it to rise.

Stock hedge funds, which usually mix long and short bets in

their trading strategies, last week lost money on their short

wagers but made money on the parts of their portfolios holding

long bets, said the note.

While stock pickers finished the week flat, systematic

traders returned 0.36% between February 14-20.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday in the wake of gloomy economic

reports. Some analysts and traders said that the expiration of

options positions worth $2.7 trillion also added a further

pressure.

ASIA BULLS

Hedge funds also bought developed and emerging market Asia

stocks at the quickest pace in five months, Goldman Sachs said,

with Asia now the only region globally where the balance of

hedge fund trades is long rather than short.

"China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are by far the most net bought

markets on our Prime book [year to date]," said the note.

About 8% of hedge fund portfolio positions hold the stock of

companies in Asian developed markets, while net allocation to

Asia's emerging markets stands at 13.3%, the note said, among

the highest levels for both in the past year.