AI Fever Drives Stock Surge as Oil Suffers Steepest Drop in Years

Markets are riding a familiar wave this week, with artificial intelligence once again steering investor cash into semiconductor and tech stocks. As companies rush to build out the next generation of AI infrastructure, the rally is broadening beyond Nvidia. Intel, Micron, and Advanced Micro Devices have added roughly $2 trillion in combined market value over the second quarter, signaling that investors see opportunity across the chipmaking supply chain.

Amazon Web Services is making a more aggressive push into what’s known as forward-deployed engineering—a strategy where engineers work directly with clients to customize AI systems for specific business needs. The move puts AWS in more direct competition with OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which launched similar teams earlier this year. Beyond tech, the market is also watching consumer demand. Nike posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by a nearly $1 billion tariff refund, but a 12 percent sales drop in Greater China raised fresh concerns about the region’s economic recovery. China’s factory output grew faster than expected in June, driven by high-tech production linked to AI demand, though real estate and consumer goods remain weak. Goldman Sachs has warned that Beijing may need to accelerate fiscal spending and borrowing to keep growth on track.

Meanwhile, oil markets saw their biggest monthly decline since March 2020, with Brent crude falling roughly 21 percent in June. The drop came as investors grew hopeful that tensions in the Middle East could ease, particularly after signals that Iran and the U.S. may hold fresh talks in Qatar. Still, traders remain cautious, treating the détente as fragile. In a separate development, an Indonesian corruption court sentenced former Education Minister Nadiem Makarim to 10 years in prison for his role in a procurement scandal involving Google Chromebooks for schools. Makarim, a co-founder of Gojek, was also fined and ordered to pay nearly $56,000 plus restitution.