Saturday, January 18, 2025

Nvidia Closes in on Apple: Is the Tech Giant About to Take the Crown?

Newsis

The New York Stock Exchange closed mixed on Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 ended their record-setting streaks. In contrast, the Nasdaq climbed higher, coming closer to a new all-time high.

Meanwhile, Nvidia surged over 4% this day, closely chasing Apple in market capitalization.

Overview

The Dow, composed of 30 large-cap stocks, and the S&P 500, which represents a broad range of large-cap and tech stocks, both declined, temporarily halting their record runs. The Dow fell by 344.31 points (0.80%) to close at 42,931.60, while the S&P 500 dropped 10.69 points (0.18%) to finish at 5,853.98. The Russell 2000, which consists of 2,000 small-cap stocks, slid 36.38 points (1.60%) to end at 2,239.71. In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose by 50.45 points (0.27%) to close at 18,540.01.

Nvidia Chases Apple

All M7 big tech stocks except for Tesla and Meta Platforms saw gains.

In particular, Nvidia rose for four consecutive days, continuing its record-setting streak for two days since the previous weekend. Nvidia’s stock soared by $5.71 (4.14%) to reach $143.71, marking a 9.2% surge over the last four trading days.

As a result, Nvidia’s market capitalization has nearly caught up to Apple, the largest company in market capitalization. Nvidia’s market cap stood at $3.53 trillion, just $70 billion shy of Apple’s $3.6 trillion. The gap has narrowed enough that it could flip at any moment.

Microsoft, which ranks third in market capitalization, stood at $3.11 trillion, widening the distance from Apple and Nvidia.

Apple closed up $1.48 (0.63%) at $236.48, while Microsoft rose by $0.62 (0.15%) to $418.78. Alphabet climbed by $0.65 (0.40%) to $164.07, and Amazon finished slightly higher at $189.07, up $0.08 (0.04%).

On the other hand, Meta fell by $1.31 (0.23%) to $575.16, and Tesla dropped $1.85 (0.84%) to close at $218.85.

Tesla has now seen declines for three consecutive days since the 17th, but the overall drop has been modest, totaling just 1.12%. Tesla’s upcoming quarterly earnings report, set to be released after the market closes on the 23rd, is expected to influence the stock’s future performance.

International Oil Prices Soar Nearly 2%

International oil prices rebounded after a sharp drop the previous day.

Prices had plummeted due to expectations of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas over the weekend. Still, they surged again as expectations weakened following a drone attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence on the 19th.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by $1.23 (1.68%) to close at $74.29 per barrel.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark, increased by $1.34 (1.94%) to $70.56 per barrel.

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