Wall Street barrelled to all-time highs on Wednesday (Thursday NZT) as its frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology keeps sending stocks higher.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.2 per cent Wednesday to beat its record set two weeks ago. The Nasdaq composite rallied even more, 2 per cent, to set its own all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, lagged the market with a gain of 0.2 per cent.
The rally sent the total market value of Nvidia, which has become the poster child of the AI boom, above US$3 trillion ($5.2t) for the first time as it closed at US$3.01t, making it the world’s second-most valuable firm as it edged past Apple (US$3.00t) as it closed in on market cap leader Microsoft (US$3.15t).
Nvidia’s stock price has more than doubled this year after more than tripling in 2023.
The company is also about to undergo a stock split that will give each of its investors nine additional shares for every one that they already own.