Amazon hits $2T in market value for the first time as AI fervor, rate cut bets drive gains

Amazon’s market value surpassed the $2 trillion mark for the first time on Wednesday as optimism around artificial intelligence and potential interest rate cuts this year drove demand for technology-related stocks.

The stock rose 3.4% to $192.70, giving the e-commerce giant the fifth company to join the $2 trillion club, following tech behemoths Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia and Alphabet.

US stock indexes have notched robust gains this year on relentless enthusiasm around AI, optimism around resilience in the US economy and potential easing of interest rates from the Federal Reserve.

Amazon become the fifth US company to surpass $2 trillion in market value. AFP via Getty Images

Wall Street was trading near record levels, largely powered by megacap stocks such as Nvidia and Amazon, whose future cash flows stand to benefit from lower interest rates.

Shares of Amazon, which were added to the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average index in February, have climbed over 26% this year.

The company became the fifth biggest US company by market value in February after Nvidia went up a spot.

Amazon Web Services is the largest cloud services provider in the world, and growth at the Amazon unit has returned after a dip in the past year, thanks to surging adoption of AI technologies.

The company has also invested in AI startup Anthropic and robotics firm Figure as it looks to capitalize on the AI boom.

Shares of Amazon, which were added to the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average index in February, have climbed over 26% this year. CEO Andy Jassy, above. Getty Images

Late last year, Amazon unveiled a new generation of custom-designed chips used in data centers, targeting applications for machine-learning training and generative artificial intelligence.