Tech Stocks Go on a Tear as AI Hype and Market Optimism Fuel Breakout Week

With input from CNBC and Bloomberg.

Wall Street’s tech trade is back in full force – and then some.

After months of choppy sentiment and worries about AI disruption, investors piled into the sector this week, sending heavyweights like Oracle, Advanced Micro Devices, and Microsoft sharply higher. The rally is so strong it’s brushing up against record territory in places rarely seen since the early 2000s.

Start with software. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) is on track for its best week since 2001 – and possibly its best ever – jumping roughly 15% in just a few days. That’s a dramatic turnaround for a sector that’s still down about 20% for the year.

The gains aren’t evenly spread – they’re explosive.

Oracle is leading the charge, up around 32% this week alone, putting it on pace for its strongest run since 1999. The catalyst: a major expansion of its AI data center deal with Bloom Energy, locking in massive power capacity to fuel its cloud ambitions.

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices isn’t far behind. The stock hit a fresh all-time high after a relentless 12-day winning streak – its longest in more than two decades – and is now up more than 40% during that stretch. Not bad for a company at the center of the AI hardware race.

Then there’s Microsoft, up over 14% this week, bouncing hard after a rough March quarter that wiped out nearly a quarter of its market value. Investors seem willing to look past that stumble and bet on its long-term AI push.

The rally goes deeper. Intel has surged about 55% in April, powered by a string of partnerships, while Broadcom, Micron Technology, Marvell Technology, and ON Semiconductor are all up roughly 30% this month.

Even the broader sector is riding the wave. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) just hit a new all-time high and is on a 13-day winning streak.

Part of the spark? A shift in the macro mood. Hopes that tensions tied to the Iran conflict could ease have helped steady markets, giving investors more confidence to jump back into riskier, growth-heavy names – especially in tech.

There’s also a sense that the AI narrative, which rattled parts of the software space earlier this year, is now flipping back into a tailwind. Companies building the infrastructure – or selling the tools – are suddenly back in favor.

Still, after a run like this, some on Wall Street are getting cautious. When stocks move this fast, this sharply, the easy gains tend to come early. What happens next will likely depend on whether earnings – and especially forward guidance – can keep up with the hype.