AI and crude oil drive the divergence of global markets, with the chip industry chain emerging as the main beneficiary

BlockBeats reported on May 15 that a New York Times op-ed pointed out that artificial intelligence and energy prices are becoming the two core variables driving global capital markets, with market performance showing a highly concentrated characteristic.

The article stated that although NVIDIA has risen more than 20,000% over the past decade, the strongest-performing chip company since 2026 has shifted to Intel, whose stock price surged 114% in April alone and has risen by over 214% year-to-date, significantly outperforming NVIDIA during the same period.

Analysis believes that the main line of this round of the AI sector is expanding from “training chips” to “inference chips,” driving a repricing of related semiconductor companies. In addition to Intel, both the South Korean and Taiwan markets have also performed well, with companies like Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and TSMC benefiting from expanding AI computing power demand, boosting the overall strength of local stock markets.

The article also noted that the AI trend is no longer confined to the US market, but is now forming a global capital concentration effect, further intensifying the structural divergence between major assets. Fluctuations in energy prices, coupled with geopolitical conflicts, have made market trends increasingly reliant on the growth momentum of a handful of industries.

Overall, AI and crude oil are jointly shaping the logic of global asset pricing, but true diversification in the current market environment remains relatively difficult.