AI STOCK BOOM FUELS WALL STREET GAINS – AND BUBBLE WARNINGS

U.S. markets surged again this week, driven largely by the relentless rise of artificial intelligence stocks, but investors and economists are increasingly warning that the rally is beginning to look unsustainable.

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The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new highs as chipmakers, software giants, and Al infrastructure firms extended months of historic growth — the kind of euphoria that some analysts now compare to the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s.

AI DRIVES WALL STREET'S RECORD RUN

Al-linked companies have powered nearly all of the market's 2025 gains. Firms like NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Alphabet-continue to dominate indexes, with NVIDIA's market capitalization surpassing $4 trillion — a symbolic threshold that underscores both investor enthusiasm and the market's narrow concentration.

Chip manufacturers, data center builders, and software providers developing Al models have become the engines of this rally. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has risen more than 70% this year, and Al-related ETFs have seen record inflows from retail investors chasing what they believe is the future of technology.

Even companies with only tangential links to Al are being swept up. Shares of hardware suppliers, cloud computing firms, and Al chip startups have all surged on speculation of future partnerships or acquisitions.

ECONOMISTS SEE PARALLELS TO PAST BUBBLES