Microsoft was on pace to close at a record high on Thursday, becoming the third mega-cap technology firm after Nvidia and Apple to scale new heights this year as the sector rebounds on hopes that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates.
The Windows software maker rose as much as 1.9% to US$343.84 on Thursday, above its closing high of $343.11 reached on 19 November 2021. The gain would extend Microsoft’s year-to-date rally of 43%.
Microsoft shares have also been turbocharged in recent months as it races peers like Alphabet to introduce generative artificial intelligence features onto its suite of products and services. The company is overhauling its entire line-up of Office apps, including Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Word, with OpenAI technology.
OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, has fuelled much of the frenzy with its ChatGPT tool, which went viral in recent months and demonstrated the power of chatbot technology.
Read: Microsoft releases big updates to Bing, ChatGPT
The company is also working with AMD on the chip maker’s expansion into AI processors, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The companies are teaming up to offer an alternative to Nvidia, which dominates the market for AI-capable chips. — Subrat Patnaik, (c) 2023 Reuters
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