(Reuters) – Nvidia (NVDA) led a rise in market value among global companies in October, buoyed by relentless demand for its new artificial intelligence supercomputer chips, as more companies integrate AI into their daily operations.
Nvidia’s market capitalization rose 9.3% to $3.26 trillion in October, while the company’s supplier, TSMC (TSMC34.SA), saw its market value rise 6.5% to $832.8 billion. The gains came after the world’s largest contract chipmaker posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and provided a robust outlook for AI demand.
Apple briefly ceded its top spot in global market capitalization to Nvidia, falling 3% to $3.4 trillion last month on a modest growth forecast and sluggish sales in China, before bouncing back.
Market values of Meta Platforms and Microsoft fell in October after both companies warned of escalating AI costs.
Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, maintained his positive view on AI and advised investors to use the short-term volatility as an opportunity to increase exposure to high-quality AI stocks.
“We continue to favor select semi-names and big tech, and we expect our AI portfolio to deliver 35% earnings growth in 2024 and 25% in 2025.”
In Asia, Tencent Holdings’ market value fell 9% to $483 billion in October, led by a broader decline in Chinese shares due to sluggish economic data, geopolitical tensions and as investors paused to assess government support measures.
US drugmaker Eli Lilly’s (LLY) market value fell 6.45% to $787.6 billion last month as quarterly sales of high-profile weight loss and diabetes drugs fell short of Wall Street sales estimates, resulting in a sharp decline decline in its shares.
(Reporting by Patturaja Murugaboopathy and Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
