AI infrastructure stocks led first-half market gains in 2026

Global markets split sharply in the first half of 2026, with investors rewarding companies tied to the physical build-out of AI while several traditional safe-haven and speculative assets weakened. War in the Middle East, political upheaval and an oil-price spike formed a volatile backdrop, but some stock markets still reached fresh highs.

Memory chip and storage companies produced the biggest gains as demand for AI computing strained supply. SanDisk led the US market with a gain of over 850% in six months, while Western Digital, Micron Technology and Seagate Technology all more than tripled in value. Intel, Dell, Advanced Micro Devices and Applied Materials rose between 150% and 280% year to date.

The AI trade also supported Asian markets, with South Korea’s KOSPI doubling in value, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbing roughly 40% and the MSCI Emerging Markets index rising by around 27%. In Europe, the FTSE 100 gained 7%, France’s CAC 40 rose 5%, and Germany’s DAX gained 2%, while the MSCI India index fell 5% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 6%.

Former favourites struggled as investors reassessed capital-heavy AI spending. Meta and Microsoft fell 14% and 24% respectively on a total-return basis. Gold dropped around 28% from its record high of $5,594.82 an ounce on 29 January, while Bitcoin fell 28% since the start of the year as enthusiasm shifted toward technology shares.