Chipmaker Nvidia's market capitalisation closed above the $2 trillion level for the first time on Friday, leading a market rally fuelled by artificial intelligence stocks and setting records on Wall Street.
The California-based company's stock surged 4 per cent to hit $822.79 at the close of trading, raising its market cap to about $2.06 trillion.
It had previously passed the $2 trillion milestone during intraday trading on February 23, two days after Nvidia released a glowing earnings report.
Shares of Nvidia, whose fourth-quarter net profit surged by 769 per cent annually to $12.3 billion, are now up about 260 per cent in the past 12 months.
That makes it the world's third most valuable company, behind only Apple and Microsoft, which have market caps of $2.77 trillion and $3.09 trillion respectively, and at par with Saudi Aramco.
They are the only four companies globally with valuations of at least $2 trillion.
The quartet also form the upper echelon of the few companies that have a 13-figure market cap, a list that includes Amazon ($1.85 trillion), Google parent Alphabet ($1.71 trillion) and Facebook owner Meta Platforms ($1.28 trillion).
"The more companies move toward AI developments, the more Nvidia investors see dollars in their eyes," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Nvidia's success has rubbed off on other companies. Dell Technologies was the latest, as its shares soared more than 31 per cent after its fourth-quarter earnings report beat expectations, driven by AI.
Friday's performance was also Texas-based Dell's best day since it returned to the stock market in 2018.
It also caused founder, chairman and chief executive Michael Dell's fortune to surpass the $100 billion mark for the first time, placing him 12th on the Bloomberg Billionaire's Index.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively, to close at fresh highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 per cent.
In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX climbed 0.3 per cent to hit a new high and Paris's CAC 40 inched up 0.1 per cent to hover near its own record level, as investor sentiment was unmoved by a less-than-expected decline in eurozone inflation.
Britain's FTSE 100, meanwhile, rose 0.7 per cent, as investors were optimistic on slowing inflation in the US, the world's biggest economy.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 surged 1.9 per cent, nearly touching the 40,000-point level for the first time, leading gains across the continent buoyed by easing US inflation and tech stock rallies.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.4 per cent.
In commodities, oil prices surged on Friday and recorded a weekly again amid expectations that Opec+ crude producers would extend supply cuts into the second quarter.
Brent settled 2 per cent higher at $83.55 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate climbed 2.19 per cent to settle at $79.97 a barrel.
Gold prices, meanwhile, climbed to a two-month high on Friday and posted a second straight weekly rise, on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in June.
Gold, considered a safe haven against inflation, added about 2 per cent to settle at $2,095.70 an ounce.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Twin-turbocharged%204-litre%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E542bhp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E770Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEight-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C450%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
THE%20SPECS
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SPEC%20SHEET
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Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
GRAN%20TURISMO
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives