Halfway through a turbulent year, a clear pattern has emerged across global markets: anything tied to the physical build-out of AI has soared, while several other assets that investors traditionally turn to in uncertain times have stumbled.
War in the Middle East, political upheaval and an oil-price spike formed the backdrop, yet stock markets in several regions still pushed to fresh record highs.
According to Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, companies on the receiving end of the AI spending boom were the standout investments of the first half, while Bitcoin proved "a shocker" and gold lost its shine.
It is, Coatsworth noted, a remarkable run of events for only half a year's worth of trading.
The most spectacular gains came from an unglamorous corner of the technology world: the firms that make memory chips.
