microsoft (MSFT) stock rose Tuesday on news related to the company's artificial intelligence efforts, while fellow mega-cap stocks apple (AAPL) fell on concerns about weak iPhone sales in China.
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Microsoft and Apple are competing to become the world's largest companies by market capitalization. On Tuesday, Microsoft's market capitalization exceeded Apple's. According to IBD MarketSmith, Microsoft's valuation ended the session at $2.9 trillion, while Apple's valuation was $2.856 trillion.
On the stock market today, Microsoft stock rose 0.5% to 390.27. However, Apple stock fell 1.2% to 183.63.
Apple shares fell on news that the company is offering discounts on new iPhones to stimulate demand in China. Apple often discounts products for the Lunar New Year, but it hasn't discounted new iPhones in years.
Microsoft stock rises
Microsoft stock rose on news of strategic partnership and expansion of Copilot products.
On Tuesday, Microsoft and the UK-based vodafone (VOD) announced a 10-year strategic partnership to deliver generative AI and cloud services to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organizations, and consumers in Europe and Africa.
Vodafone plans to invest $1.5 billion over the next 10 years in cloud and customer-focused AI services developed with Microsoft. These services include Microsoft's Azure OpenAI and Copilot products.
Vodafone also plans to replace its physical data centers with cheaper and more scalable Azure cloud services.
Meanwhile, Microsoft plans to invest in Vodafone's managed internet of things connectivity platform, which is expected to become a separate and independent business by April 2024.
Opening Copilot to more users
In other Microsoft news, the Redmond, Washington-based software giant announced moves to expand its Copilot AI assistant software to consumers and small businesses.
Microsoft has announced a paid version of its Copilot platform for individuals. The service, called Copilot Pro, costs $20 per user per month and includes advanced features not available in the free version.
Additionally, Microsoft announced that it is removing the minimum user requirements for Copilot for Microsoft 365. Microsoft previously limited the offer to companies purchasing licenses for 300 seats or more. This change will also extend the service to small and medium-sized businesses. This service costs $30 per user per month.
Microsoft stock in buy zone
Microsoft stock broke out of its flat base on January 11th with a buy point of 384.30, according to MarketSmith charts. Based on IBD trading principles, the 5% buy zone is extended to 403.52.
Meanwhile, Apple stock removed the sell signal on January 2nd after falling below its 50-day moving average. Apple stock hit an all-time high of 199.62 on December 14th.
Follow Patrick Seitz on X (formerly Twitter). @IBD_PSeitz Check out more articles on consumer technology, software, and semiconductor stocks here.
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