APPLE OVERTAKES MICROSOFT AS MOST VALUABLE COMPANY Apple has overtaken Microsoft to become the world's most valuable company after breaking its silence on artificial intelligence (AI) and on the back of lighter than expected US inflation figures. Apple shares rose nearly five per cent to a new record high of $218.02 per share on Wednesday, pushing higher than it did during its seven per cent rally on Tuesday, and driving the iPhone maker's market capitalisation to $3.31 trillion (£2.58 trillion). The stock has risen over 17 per cent during the year to date, while Microsoft has jumped over 18 per cent, with its market cap sitting at $3.26 trillion (£2.54 trillion). Google owner Alphabet is up nearly 28 per cent in the same period and is worth $2.19 trillion (£1.7 trillion). It comes after Apple announced long-awaited AI news at a conference this week, introducing a range of new features, including integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper