AI boom pushes Nvidia valuation to USD 1 tn: US chip manufacturer Nvidia’s market cap briefly topped USD 1 tn yesterday, putting it in the elite group of only five companies to enjoy a 13-figure valuation, according to Bloomberg. Nvidia shares gained as much as 7.7% during trading yesterday, continuing the recent rise in the company’s valuation on the back of the company’s push into AI chips. Shares have surged more than 30% in the last three days alone, and have more than tripled in value since October.

Nvidia has positioned itself as a market leader in AI semiconductors: Known for its computer graphics chips, the company now produces semiconductors that power a host of AI applications such as ChatGPT, which have exploded in popularity this year as big tech firms start to integrate large language models (LLMs) into their products. Nvidia shares jumped almost 25% on Friday after the company forecast 2Q revenues more than 50% above analyst estimates as demand for AI chips soars. “We view Nvidia as the most important company on the planet in an era that is rapidly changing towards one that will be emphasized by greater AI capabilities,” one analyst told Reuters.

Now the company wants to supercharge the AI revolution: Among a host of new AI product announcements, CEO Jensen Huang yesterday unveiled the company’s plans for a supercomputer capable of building more advanced generative AI. Microsoft, Google and Meta will be given first access to the computer, which according to Huang will have almost 500x the memory of its existing system, according to Barron’s.

EGX30

17,535

+1.9% (YTD: +20.1%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 30.84

Sell 30.96

USD at CIB

Buy 30.85

Sell 30.95

Interest rates CBE

18.25% deposit

19.25% lending

Tadawul

11,140

0.0% (YTD: +6.3%)

ADX

9,484

+0.8% (YTD: -7.1%)

DFM

3,567

+0.7% (YTD: +6.9%)

S&P 500

4,206

0.0% (YTD: +9.5%)

FTSE 100

7,522

-1.4% (YTD: +0.9%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,292

-0.7% (YTD: +13.1%)

Brent crude

USD 73.72

-4.4%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.31

-4.3%

Gold

USD 1,977.50

+0.7%

BTC

USD 27,776

+0.3% (YTD: +68.3%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 1.9% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 3.21 bn. Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 20.1% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Construction (+9.0%), Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (+8.5%) and Ezz Steel (+4.5%).

In the red: Taaleem (-2.0%), Ibnsina Pharma (-1.4%) and Rameda (-0.4%).

Asian markets are in the red this morning, with the ASX (-1.0%) and the Nikkei (-0.8%) leading losses. US and European equity futures are also down this morning.

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