Nvidia stock hits record, boosting market cap over $5 trillion

Nvidia shares finished at an all-time high on Friday for the first time since October, boosting the company's valuation beyond $5 trillion, as investors dived into the AI chip sector ahead of next week's earnings from tech's largest players.

The stock increased 4.3% to end at $208.27. Nvidia's value has grown more than 14 times since the close of 2022, propelled by the rising need for artificial intelligence (AI) services and models.

Nvidia's graphics processors are essential for Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, in addition to model creators OpenAI and Anthropic.

Friday's surge was ignited by unexpected earnings late Thursday from chipmaker Intel, which had been largely absent from the AI market until only recently. Intel's shares rose by 24%, marking their strongest performance since 1987.

Advanced Micro Devices, in competition with Nvidia and Intel, surged 14%, while the mobile chipmaker Qualcomm saw an 11% increase.

Before, investors had been moving away from big-cap technology stocks as oil prices soared due to the conflict in Iran, with supply chain issues following suit.

However, technology, particularly AI infrastructure, is back in demand with no signs of ebbing.

The Nasdaq is currently up 15% for April, on track for its best month since April 2020.

Nvidia does encounter growing rivalry in the AI arena. Alphabet, a primary Nvidia client, unveiled new chips aiming to compete with Nvidia's products when they launch to cloud clients later this year.