As much as 95% of 2026 global market rally driven by just 1% stocks: Report
The global mcap stood at $164.253 trillion as of May 26, adding 8.8% from the year ago period. Highlighting the growing concentration of wealth creation across world markets which is being solely led by AI-focused stocks, the Yes Securities report said Wednesday that its analysis is based on a study of the top 10,000 listed companies, which represent nearly 95% of global equity market capitalization, collectively adding $12 trillion in mcap so far this year by almost 95% of this addition has come from just 100 stocks.
“These top 100 companies alone contributed around $11.4 trillion in market-cap gains, while the remaining 9,900 companies accounted for only a marginal share, the report said, adding the top 100 stocks saw 33.6 around 33.6% market-cap gains year-to-date compared to just 0.6% for the rest of the global equity markets,” the report said.The rally is being overwhelmingly driven by the artificial intelligence theme. Information technology accounted for nearly two-thirds of mcap gains among the top 100 gainers, while communication services, industrials and energy emerged as key contributors due to their direct exposure to AI, the report said.
When it comes to the US, which gained 8.1% YTD, the top 53 stocks account for $7.4 trillion in market-cap gains, while the broader domestic market saw a net decline in aggregate market value, reflecting investor preference for scalable businesses with stronger earnings visibility than a region-specific phenomenon.
The report also said concentration in global markets is currently being supported by earnings growth rather than speculative excess. The top 100 market-cap gainers are seeing materially stronger FY27 earnings upgrades compared to the larger global market.
