US stocks in multiple sectors have seen a "straight-line surge", with 18% of S&P 500 component stocks rising by over 10% so far this year. Artificial intelligence and policy changes are the main driving forces.

Recently, a noteworthy phenomenon has emerged in the US stock market, with many stocks almost "soaring straight up." The reason behind this is not complicated, as the global industrial structure and policy environment are rapidly changing. Data shows that as of Friday, about 18% of the stocks in the S&P 500 index have seen their year-to-date gains reach or exceed 10%. Comparatively, in the past five years, as of January 16th of each year, the average proportion of stocks reaching this level of increase was only 9.4%. This year, this proportion has doubled, highlighting the breadth and strength of the current market situation. This trend is not a flash in the pan. Statistics have found that in the past year, dozens of stocks in the technology, finance, and metals sectors have seen gains of over 50%. Currently, the total market value of these "soaring stocks" has exceeded $4 trillion, with many stocks' price charts showing a clearly parabolic shape, almost rising all the way. The latest representative case comes from the storage chip sector. Companies such as Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US), Western Digital Corporation (WDC.US), and SanDisk Corp (SNDK.US) have benefited from the strong storage demand brought by the artificial intelligence wave. AI chip manufacturers, including NVIDIA Corporation, have seen a continuous increase in demand for high-performance storage, driving related storage stocks to rise by over 200% in the past year. Looking at the broader technology industry, as companies introduce AI intelligent agents into software systems to improve efficiency and reduce costs, the demand for computing power has sharply increased. Data centers are expanding for training large models, directly driving semiconductor demand. Previously, companies like NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), AMD (AMD.US), and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US) took turns in the market spotlight, but now, storage chip manufacturers have taken center stage. The range of stocks benefiting from AI is constantly expanding. Connector manufacturer Amphenol (APH.US) has seen a continuous increase in revenue from data centers in recent years, doubling its stock price in the past year. Materials giant Corning Inc (GLW.US), with a market value of about $80 billion, has seen its stock price rise by about 88% over the same period, driven by the demand for data center expansion. The AI construction boom has also boosted the commodities sector. In the past year, copper prices have risen by about 30%, with the growing demand for copper materials from data centers being an important driving force. As a result, mining giants' stock prices have surged. Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO.US) has seen its stock price rise by about 91% in a year. Analysis indicates that mining companies have a large amount of fixed costs, and the rise in copper prices not only increases sales but also accelerates profit margins. At the same time, gold mining stocks have also experienced a strong rebound, although this is not directly driven by AI. Companies like Newmont Mining (NEM.US) and Barrick Mining (B.US) have doubled their stock prices in the past year, while the price of gold has increased by about 66%. Behind the rise in gold prices is a profound change in the global political and financial landscape. In April 2025, the Trump administration reignited the tariff agenda, causing market concerns about the US economic outlook and a sharp decline in the US dollar against major currency baskets. Although months have passed since then, the dollar is still hovering near its lows. At the same time, central banks in many countries are gradually reducing the proportion of the US dollar in their foreign exchange reserves and increasing their holdings of gold. This trend has been further strengthened after the US froze billions of dollars of Russian central bank assets. Concerns about the long-term outlook for the US dollar have made gold a core safe-haven asset once again, significantly benefiting gold mining companies. The financial sector has also performed well. Stock prices of large US investment banks have surged, with Citigroup (C.US) and Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS.US) seeing gains of over 50% in the past year. It is widely expected that as the Federal Reserve enters a rate-cutting cycle, bank financing costs will decrease, credit demand will recover, and fees from mergers and capital market activities will increase. In addition to profit expectations, changes in the regulatory environment have also boosted bank valuations. Policy changes include easing bank capital and reserve requirements to release more funds for lending and mergers; meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission and the US Department of Justice are accelerating merger review processes, reducing costs for corporate transactions, and increasing the certainty of transaction completion.