By Vincent Nichols, Senior Investment Specialist, US and Global Thematic Equities
- Technological disruption, specifically in AI infrastructure, is fuelling significant market growth, as evidenced by record-breaking quarterly performances
- Eventually, there will likely be a meaningful deceleration in spending on computing; but for now, expenditure has strengthened and medium-term expectations have risen
- Investors’ attention is shifting from a primary focus on valuations toward the future trajectory of earnings
Technological innovations are disrupting virtually every part of the global economy – from consumption, financial transactions, manufacturing, energy and more.
And this environment continues to drive huge market momentum. Technology stocks experienced a boom in the second quarter of 2026, with artificial intelligence infrastructure investment serving as the primary engine.
Over the period, the Nasdaq’s Philadelphia Semiconductor Sector index delivered its best-ever quarter – up 88% – while the technology uplift led to the best quarter in six years for the S&P 500 and emerging markets were the strongest since 20091.
Memory and logic were central to the rally, supported by accelerating demand from data centres, AI servers, optical communications, power supply, and related infrastructure.
[1] Source: Bloomberg
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