NEW YORK, July 2 Reuters A U.S. stock rally supercharged by excitement over artificial intelligence is drawing comparisons with the dotcom bubble two decades ago, raising the question of whether prices have again been inflated by optimism over a revolutionary technology.

AI fever, coupled with a resilient economy and stronger earnings, has lifted the SP 500 index to fresh records this year following a run of more than 50 from its October 2022 low. The techheavy Nasdaq Composite index has gained over 70 since the end of 2022.

While various metrics show stock valuations and investor exuberance have yet to hit peaks reached at the turn of the century, the similarities are easy to spot. A small group of massive tech stocks including AI chipmaker Nvidia symbolize today39;s market, recalling the Four Horsemen of the late 1990s Cisco, Dell, Microsoft and Intel.

The dizzying run in shares of Nvidia, which gained nearly 4,300 in a recent fiveyear period, stirred memories of how network equipment maker Cisco surged about 4,500 over five years leading up to its peak in 2000, according to a BTIG comparison of the two stocks.

Valuations have grown as well, though many tech champions appear to be in far better financial shape than their dotcom counterparts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Other measures, such as investor bullishness, have yet to reach the frothy heights of the turn of the century.

The concern is that the AIdriven surge will end the same way as the dotcom boom…