The S&P 500 entered a new bull market last week.
But gains during this year’s rise have been led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the hyper investor for AI games. And now EV stocks have joined the AI-led mania as the market continues its rally heading into the end of the month, quarter and first half.
Tesla (TSLA), which has seen its market capitalization shrink by more than $800 billion, has seen its stock more than double this year and gain more than 10% in the past four days alone. Through Tuesday’s close, the stock had finished higher for 13 consecutive trading sessions.
Tesla stock was down about 0.1% on Wednesday afternoon.
In recent days, smaller electric vehicle rivals have seen bigger and bigger stock moves as the AI-led market rally has spread to other areas of next-gen tech trading.
“The market wants to believe that Tesla is an AI name first, then an automotive company,” Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a note to investors earlier this month.
Tesla was also buoyed by recently announced electric charging tie-ups with traditional automakers General Motors (GM) and Ford (F). Those stocks have also gained more than 5% in recent days, a notable development for typically more stuffy legacy automaker names.
Expectations that the Federal Reserve will pause aggressive rate hikes on the heels of cooling inflation data also helped fuel the EV rally amid broader risky trading.
Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng (XPEV) has seen its stock rise more than 25% in the past four days, while shares of rival Nio (NIO) are trading up around 14% over the same period. . On Tuesday, China’s central bank announced a cut in its short-term borrowing rate in a bid to stimulate its economy.
Even more speculative names like Nikola (NKLA) have won in recent days. The maker of battery and hydrogen electric trucks extended its gains for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday, rising more than 20% at one point. Over the past four days, the stock is up around 70%.
Nikola’s share price has doubled since hitting an all-time low of $0.52/share on June 6. Nasdaq last month told the company its shares were at risk of delisting after closing below $1 each for more than 30 consecutive business days.
Ines is a senior economics reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
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