NEW YORK, January 7, 2026, 15:29 (EST) — Regular session

Microsoft (MSFT) shares rose 1.2% to $484.34 in afternoon trading on Wednesday, keeping pace with a renewed bid for big-cap tech. The stock ended Tuesday at $478.51.

The move comes as investors rotate back into stocks tied to artificial intelligence, after recent hand-wringing over stretched valuations. The Nasdaq was up 0.48% and the S&P 500 was up 0.03%, with Microsoft among the AI-linked names leading gains. “Investors have come into 2026 with a similar playbook to last year: Buy tech and forget about it,” Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management, said. Reuters

Fresh labour data also kept expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts in…