AMD Hits $1 Trillion, Nasdaq Hits Record High: AI Frenzy on Wall Street
The U.S. Nasdaq 100 jumped to a new record high again yesterday. This came after the tech index posted a gain of more than 2 percent.
On Monday, Wall Street saw exactly the combination investors had been hoping for. AI stocks surged, while oil prices and U.S. bond yields fell. As a result, the S&P 500 gained 1.5 percent and posted its best trading day since early August.
The Nasdaq Composite even jumped 2.3 percent and closed at a record high for the first time since June. Trading remains subdued for now on Tuesday. S&P 500 futures are flat, and Nasdaq 100 futures are up about 0.09 percent.
Technology was once again the main driver. Meta rose more than 11 percent. Intel gained 12 percent and AMD about 10 percent, briefly pushing AMD’s market capitalization past the $1 trillion mark.
Nvidia also rose 2 percent, and glass fiber manufacturer Corning gained nearly 6 percent. This keeps the striking pattern of recent weeks intact.
Investors are concerned about high interest rates, geopolitical tensions, and inflation, but as long as earnings expectations surrounding AI hold up, money will continue to flow into technology. For now, the AI hype outweighs macroeconomic concerns.
Oil prices played a significant role in this. WTI fell 4.5 percent on Monday to $95.78 per barrel. Brent lost more than 3 percent and closed around $100.34. This is significant because oil has been one of the main sources of inflation fears in recent weeks.
Lower oil prices ease the pressure on consumers and businesses and make it slightly easier for the Federal Reserve to bring inflation under control. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield also fell, dropping more than four basis points to 4.951 percent.
Still high, but back below the psychologically important 5 percent threshold.
Attention is now shifting to the meeting between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington. Topics on the agenda include artificial intelligence, the conflict with Iran, import tariffs, and rare earth metals.
For financial markets, AI is of particular interest. The United States and China are in the midst of a technological arms race. As a result, chips, energy, raw materials, and data centers have increasingly become geopolitical issues.
Any agreement on export restrictions or critical raw materials could have direct consequences for companies such as Nvidia, AMD, and other chipmakers.