The artificial intelligence frenzy shows no signs of cooling. Investors continue to shift capital into semiconductor and infrastructure stocks, betting the next wave of AI data center buildout will lift a broader set of chipmakers beyond Nvidia. In the second quarter alone, Intel, Micron, and Advanced Micro Devices added roughly $2 trillion in combined market cap, reflecting a growing conviction that the AI spending cycle is just getting started.

Amazon Web Services is making a strategic push into forward-deployed engineering, or FDE, a customer-facing field that places engineers alongside clients to customize AI systems. The move puts AWS in more direct competition with OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which launched FDE units earlier this year. Meanwhile, the broader market is watching consumer signals closely. Nike reported a 12% drop in Greater China sales, even as its quarterly earnings beat expectations thanks to a nearly $1 billion tariff refund. China's factory activity picked up in June, driven by high-tech production linked to global AI demand, but real estate and consumer goods remain weak—prompting Goldman Sachs to warn Beijing may need to accelerate fiscal spending.

Oil markets saw their biggest monthly decline since March 2020, with Brent crude falling roughly 21% in June as hopes for renewed U.S.-Iran talks eased fears of a wider Middle East conflict. Brent edged up slightly in early Asian trade Wednesday to $73.17 per barrel, but traders remain cautious, treating the détente as fragile. Away from commodities, former Indonesian Education Minister Nadiem Makarim—a co-founder of Gojek—was sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption tied to a school Chromebook procurement program. He was also fined $55,870 and ordered to pay $809.6 million in restitution, with an additional five-year term if he fails to comply.

Source: CNBC