Nvidia has become the first company in the world to hit $4 trillion in market cap, marking another historic milestone as Wall Street is excited about the potential of artificial intelligence to transform the global economy.

Shortly after the stock market opened on Wednesday, Nvidia shares jumped to $164.42, pushing the company above the $4 trillion mark. The stock later fell slightly and ended the day with a valuation just below its record high.

“The market is showing tremendous confidence that artificial intelligence is the future,” said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.

“And Nvidia is undoubtedly the company best positioned to take advantage of this gold rush,” he added.

Led by electronics engineer Jensen Huang, Nvidia now has a market value larger than the GDP of France, the United Kingdom or India, underscoring investor confidence that artificial intelligence will usher in a new era in robotics and automation.

Nvidia’s surge also helped to rally broader stock indexes, with the company outperforming even the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

One reason for the market rally is investor relief after President Donald Trump eased some of the most restrictive tariffs that rocked markets earlier in April.

Despite Trump announcing new trade measures in recent days, U.S. stocks remain at record highs, with the Nasdaq closing at a new high on Wednesday.

“The market seems to be pulling back from the worst-case scenario on tariffs,” said Angelo Zino, a technology analyst at CFRA Research.

While Nvidia is still subject to U.S. export restrictions to China and uncertainty over tariff policies, the deal to build AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia — announced during Trump’s state visit in May — shows there is a silver lining to the president’s trade policy.

“We’ve seen the administration use Nvidia chips as a bargaining chip,” Zino added. | BGNES, AFP