What happened?

Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are back in focus. Year to date, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) has surged 70.9%, far outpacing the Nasdaq Composite’s 13.3% gain over the same period.  Nvidia’s rise to become the first listed company with a market capitalisation of US$5.5 trillion further underscores how deeply the AI theme has reshaped global markets. Earlier we have also highlighted AI and data centres as a growing theme for Singapore stocks and also discussed if this AI rally is a boom or bubble.  The AI boom is reshaping demand across the technology supply chain, from semiconductors and data centres to cloud computing, advanced manufacturing and precision engineering. In this primer, we look at how the AI and technology value chain works, the growth drivers of the AI technology boom, and what investors should watch before jumping onto the AI wave. Source: Factset, data as of 14 May...