CoinWorld news, on Monday, the stock market climbed close to historical highs as investors shifted their focus from tariff tensions to the upcoming earnings reports from technology companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 220 points (0.52%), while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices increased by 0.58% and 0.75%, respectively. Traders flooded into tech stocks in anticipation of key earnings from Alphabet and Tesla, both of which will release their financial results on Wednesday. Market optimism is high, but valuations are also elevated, prompting warnings from economists who believe that artificial intelligence is fueling a bubble. Apollo's chief economist Torsten Slok stated that the valuations of top companies in the S&P 500, such as Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple, now exceed the peaks seen during the internet bubble era. Traders are competing to buy tech stocks ahead of key earnings releases. Notably, both Alphabet and Tesla will report their earnings on Wednesday, making them among the first major tech giants to do so this quarter. Strong performance may validate market optimism and high valuations. Nevertheless, the increasing focus on the AI sector is increasingly reminiscent of the tech bubble of 1999. Apollo Global Management's chief economist Torsten Slok indicated that the AI bubble could be more severe than the internet bubble. Torsten Slok: "The difference between the IT bubble of the 1990s and today’s AI bubble is that the top 10 companies in the S&P 500 are more overvalued now than they were in the 1990s." Slok explained that the valuations of the top 10 companies in the S&P 500 are now higher than those during the 1990s. Specifically, he compared the price-to-earnings ratios of major companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple, finding them to be above the absolute peak of the internet bubble. Additionally, amid escalating tensions with the EU, traders remain concerned about U.S. trade policy. If the EU fails to reach an agreement with the U.S., it is preparing for trade retaliation. (The Wall Street Journal) quoted a German official discussing trade negotiations, saying, "If they want war, they will get war." This is in response to President Donald Trump's escalating demands on the EU and other trading partners. Previously, Trump pushed for tariffs of at least 20% on EU goods, higher than the previously proposed 15%. On the other hand, the EU's goal is to achieve a 10% baseline tariff, with specific considerations for certain industries.