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Big Tech stocks surged on Friday after Meta and Amazon boosted Wall Street’s confidence that Silicon Valley can deliver further profitable growth while continuing to spend billions on artificial intelligence.
Meta shares opened 16.5 per cent higher after its fourth-quarter sales and outlook exceeded forecasts, alongside the surprise introduction of its first-ever quarterly dividend. Amazon climbed 6.6 per cent in early trade after reporting bumper holiday retail sales.
Nvidia joined the rally, which comes at the end of a mixed week for tech earnings reports that saw Apple and Alphabet disappoint investors.
Even as the sector’s latest quarterly numbers failed to demonstrate the anticipated explosion in AI-driven revenues at Microsoft, Amazon and Google, a renewed focus on operational efficiency and capital returns helped sustain investors’ interest after a record end to 2023 for the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks.
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