• Nuclear energy stocks roared higher Thursday, extending gains earlier in the week amid expectations of growing energy needs driven by data centers to support AI.

• President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a $500 billion joint venture with Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank to build AI infrastructure in the U.S.

• Shares of Oklo, which is backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, surged close to 13% Thursday and have added almost 50% this week since reports of the initiative emerged.

Nuclear energy stocks roared higher Thursday, extending gains earlier in the week as President Donald Trump's announcement of a $500 billion joint venture with Oracle (ORCL), OpenAI, and SoftBank to build AI infrastructure reinforced expectations of growing energy demand to support AI.  

Shares of nuclear energy startup Oklo Inc. , which is backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, surged close to 13% Thursday and have added almost 50% this week, as reports of the project emerged Tuesday. Markets in the U.S. were closed Monday.

NuScale Power shares also jumped nearly 14% Thursday, adding 32% this week. Meanwhile, Vistra Energy Corp. shares climbed close to 3% Thursday and have gained 12% for the week so far.

Constellation Energy Corp, which has a contract with Stargate partner and OpenAI backer Microsoft (MSFT), rose 4% Thursday, bringing its gains for the week to about 9%. Shares of Constellation and rival Vistra have exploded over the past year, nearly tripling and quintupling in the last 12 months, respectively. 

Shares of NANO Nuclear Energy Inc jumped 17% Thursday after the company was awarded patents related to its designs for a modular transportable nuclear generator. The company is developing portable reactors designed to be used in remote locations. Its stock has climbed more than 70% so far this month.