 | ||
| On November 17, 2021, the logo for Google LLC may be seen at the Google Store Chelsea, which is located in Manhattan, New York City, United States. File photo courtesy of REUTERS/Andrew Kelly. |
The 13th of July (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), the parent company of Google, saw its share price increase by 4.9% on Thursday after the company said that it will be releasing its artificial intelligence chatbot Bard in Europe and Brazil. This announcement eased concerns over regulatory challenges in other countries.
The stock finished the day's trading at $124.73, and it was on course for its highest one-day percentage rise since the company unveiled the product in early February. During the course of the day, the price of the shares rose to its highest level since the middle of June.
Alphabet shares were doing better than those of the wider market, which was up 0.6%, with the S&P 500 (.SPX) index being supported by data indicating hints of inflation deceleration.
Local privacy authorities had been holding back Bard's debut in the European Union until now, but Google said it had spoken with watchdogs to reassure them on matters pertaining to openness, choice, and control. Bard's launch had been delayed until now.
The head of financial research at an investment business called AJ Bell, Danni Hewson, linked Thursday's surge to Bard's growth into additional languages as well as the launches in Europe and Brazil.
"There were a few issues raised about the data and the privacy. According to Hewson, "it is abundantly clear that they have been successful in assuring European regulators regarding those issues, which essentially clears the way for further advantage."
The chief market analyst at B Riley Wealth, Art Hogan, also ascribed Thursday's advance to the debut of Bard's products in Europe and Brazil. According to Hogan, this "marks the product's most significant expansion since its February launch and pits it against Microsoft Corp."
On Thursday, shares of Microsoft (MSFT.O), which is a supporter of competing AI ChatGPT, increased by 1.1%.
Alphabet's share price has increased by around 41% since the beginning of the year because to the enthusiasm that has been generated among investors over generative artificial intelligence since February. The share price of Microsoft has increased by 42% so far in 2023.
TD Cowen increased its price objective for Alphabet shares from $130 to $140 on Thursday, citing forecasts of greater growth in the company's search sector.
Sinéad Carew in New York and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru contributed reporting, while Conor Humphries was responsible for editing the piece.