Nvidia and Apple keep taking turns at the top of the world
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Nvidia (NVDA+2.78%) is back on top as the world’s most valuable public company ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
The chipmaker’s shares rose around 2.4% on Tuesday, pushing its market cap to $3.42 trillion and past Apple’s (AAPL+0.38%) market cap of $3.37 trillion. The iPhone maker’s shares were up by around 0.4%.
Apple was able to defend the top spot at the market close on Monday after Nvidia briefly took over earlier in the day. In late October, Nvidia briefly overtook Apple after a record-setting stock rally, but ended the day below the tech giant. Nvidia will take over Intel’s spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the end of the week.
Nvidia passed both Apple and Microsoft (MSFT+1.11%) for the first time in June to become the most valuable public company in the world. Earlier in the month, the chipmaker reached the $3 trillion threshold for the first time. It became the first semiconductor company to reach a $2 trillion valuation after it reported record fourth-quarter earnings in February.
Nvidia’s South Korea-based chipmaking partner SK Hynix saw its shares surge on Monday after it said the U.S.-based chipmaker asked it to move supply of its next-generation, high-bandwidth memory chips up by six months.
The U.S. presidential election could have implications for Nvidia and other chipmakers which have come under tightening U.S. restrictions on selling to China under both the Trump and Biden administrations.
In October, the head of Dutch chipmaking equipment company ASML (ASML+1.51%) said he expects more pressure on U.S. allies to curb chip sales to China.
“If you look at the geopolitical landscape, I think it’s clear that the U.S. will continue to apply pressure on their allies for more restrictions,” Christophe Fouquet, chief executive of ASML, said. “The question is, what is right for the Netherlands? What is right for Europe?”
The U.S. finalized restrictions on investments in sensitive technologies in China by U.S. individuals and companies late last month. The rules cover three categories of technology: semiconductors, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence. Some investments are banned, while others require notice to the U.S. government.
