| |NOVEMBER 20248TECH MINTWith a record-breaking stock gain driven by the unquenchable demand for its specialist artificial intelligence chips, Nvidia overtook Apple as the most valuable company in the world on Friday.According to LSEG data, Nvidia's stock market value momentarily surpassed Apple's $3.52 trillion, reaching $3.53 trillion.Apple's shares increased 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone manufacturer at $3.52 trillion, while Nvidia's shares ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of $3.47 trillion.Before being surpassed by Apple and Microsoft, Nvidia temporarily held the top spot in the world's valuation rankings in June. The market capitalizations of the three tech companies have been closely tied for a number of months.With its stock up 0.8 percent, Microsoft's market worth was $3.18 trillion.As the leading provider of processors for AI computing, the Silicon Valley chipmaker has emerged as the clear victor in a competition between Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and other industry titans to control the new technology.Known for designing videogame processors since the 1990s, Nvidia's stock has increased by roughly 18 percent so far in October. These gains have come after ChatGPT's creator, OpenAI, announced a $6.6 billion fundraising round.Western Digital, a manufacturer of data storage, posted quarterly profits that exceeded analysts' projections on Friday, boosting confidence about data center demand and boosting Nvidia and other semiconductor companies.Following a surge last week when TSMC, the largest contract chipmaker in the world, reported a forecast-beating 54 percent increase in quarterly earnings due to the surge in demand for chips used in artificial intelligence, Nvidia's shares reached a record high on Tuesday.According to LSEG data, Nvidia's stock market value momentarily surpassed Apple's $3.52 trillion, reaching $3.53 trillion.Apple, meantime, is having trouble with the lackluster demand for its iPhones. China had a 0.3 percent decline in iPhone sales during the third quarter, but a 42 percent increase in sales of rival Huawei phones.With around a fifth of the weight of the S&P 500 index, shares of Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft have a significant impact on both the larger U.S. stock market and the highly valued technology sector.The benchmark S&P 500 reached an all-time high last week thanks to optimism about the future of artificial intelligence, hopes that the Federal Reserve will significantly lower U.S. interest rates, and, most recently, a positive start to the earnings season. NVIDIA SURPASSES APPLE AS THE WORLD'S MOST VALUABLE COMPANY
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