Nvidia, Alphabet lead market cap surge in March

(Reuters) - Nvidia Corp and Alphabet Inc saw the biggest jump in their market capitalisation in March, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) enthusiasm and anticipation for new products and expansion plans.

Nvidia's market cap soared to $2.25 trillion at March-end, up 14% from February, while Alphabet's rose 9% to $1.8 trillion.

Nvidia's shares saw an upswing last month as the company announced its latest flagship AI processor is slated for release later this year, while Alphabet's shares got a lift from reports of Apple's interest in integrating Google's Gemini AI engine into the iPhone.

The AI-driven market optimism also lifted Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). TSMC's market cap jumped about 12% to $632.5 billion.

Conversely, Tesla Inc faced the largest market cap drop, falling about 13% to $559.8 billion amid demand concerns, rising competition, and scrutiny over CEO Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package.

Apple Inc experienced a decline, with its market cap dropping 5.1% to $2.65 trillion, amid slowing iPhone sales and a recent $2 billion fine from European regulators for antitrust violations.

Overall, major tech firms have experienced significant market gains this year. So far in 2024, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, and TSMC's market caps have risen 81.8%, 42%, and 26%, respectively.

"For investors with excessive exposure to large-cap tech names and looking to diversify beyond the sector, we see opportunities in US small-caps and select European small- and mid-cap stocks," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management.

"We think their performance should approach that of their large-cap peers amid a supportive macro backdrop, and we see value in adding them in portfolios."

(Reporting By Patturaja Murugaboopathy and Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

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