Microsoft Corp. is on pace to close at a record high, becoming the third mega-cap technology firm after Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc. to scale new heights this year as the sector rebounds on hopes that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates.
The Windows software maker rose as much as 1.9% to $343.84 on Thursday, above its closing high of $343.11 reached on November 19, 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 Inc. to introduce generative artificial intelligence features onto its suite of products and services. The company is overhauling its entire lineup of Office apps, including Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Word, with OpenAI technology.
OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, has fueled much of the frenzy with its ChatGPT tool, which went viral in recent months and demonstrated the power of chatbot technology.
The company is also working with with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on the chipmaker’s expansion into artificial intelligence processors, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The companies are teaming up to offer an alternative to Nvidia Corp., which dominates the market for AI-capable chips called graphics processing units.
