Microsoft rejoined the $2 trillion club

A recovery in Microsoft Corp. shares sees the software giant’s market value expected to close above $2 trillion (R35.44 trillion) for the first time in almost six months, as technology equities bounce.

Microsoft gained up to 3.4% to $276.76 early Wednesday, joining Apple Inc. as the only firms with market capitalizations more than $2 trillion.

After rebounding 29% from a November low, this is the first time it has surpassed that level since August. Apple has a market capitalization of around $2.44 trillion.

Recent stock increases have coincided with growing investor interest in all things linked to artificial intelligence.

Microsoft stated last month that it is increasing its investment in OpenAI, the owner of a hugely popular chatbot.

On February 7, the business announced a version of its Bing internet-search engine driven on ChatGPT technology.

The stock is gained 15% so far this year, compared to a 16% rise in the Nasdaq 100 Index. Nvidia Corp., a chipmaker that has profited from AI interest, has increased by 55%. This year, Apple has gained 19%.

Microsoft posted mixed quarterly results in January, with the firm warning of a downturn in cloud and commercial software sales.

Separately, Britain’s antitrust authority has tentatively concluded that Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. will impair competition in the UK  game industry.