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Glonghui, May 21 — As investors heavily buy into companies providing the infrastructure for AI, some European technology stocks have soared this year. Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Aixtron has risen 189% year to date; Technoprobe, which also produces semiconductor manufacturing equipment, is up 129%; STMicroelectronics has climbed 133%. Nokia, once a mobile phone giant and now transitioning to AI business, has also gained 108% this year. Fabio Bassi, JPMorgan’s Head of Cross-Asset Strategy, said that as demand for computing power increases, investors are turning their attention to companies developing data centers, network devices, and chip manufacturing equipment, as well as companies involved in electricity, cooling, and software tools. “In Europe, scarcity has further amplified this trend. There are very few large, liquid pure AI companies, so funds are concentrated into a small number of companies regarded as AI proxies, which also feature genuine AI demand and crowded positioning.”

According to ChainCatcher, FOX Business journalist Darren Botelho, citing the latest estimates from a threat detection data company, reported that the Iranian government controls approximately 7.7 billion US dollars in digital assets. The US Department of the Treasury had previously frozen around 500 million US dollars in crypto assets related to Iran, with 344 million US dollars frozen just last month. The CEO of 250 Digital Asset Management stated that although cryptocurrencies are often seen as tools to evade sanctions, they actually benefit law enforcement agencies in tracking.

Golden Ten Data reported on May 21 that Saudi Arabia's oil export revenue in March surged to $24.7 billion, reaching a new high in over three years. Benefiting from Red Sea transshipment capacity and rising oil prices, Saudi Arabia successfully hedged the impact of the Strait of Hormuz closure. Data from the Saudi General Authority for Statistics shows that Saudi exports of crude oil and refined products in March increased by 37% year-on-year, the highest since October 2022. That month, London benchmark oil prices soared by 43%, as the near closure of the strait severely affected global supply and some Gulf economies. However, Saudi Arabia swiftly activated a nationwide oil pipeline, restoring capacity to about 70% of prewar levels by the end of March. According to a Goldman Sachs report at the end of April, Saudi Arabia's weekly oil revenue was 10% higher than before the war.