Stocks performed well on Friday, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) led the way higher. Gains of about 1% as of 11:45 a.m. EDT outpaced other major indexes.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) helped to lift the Nasdaq higher on the final trading day of the week, with a rise of 2.4% Friday morning outpacing Apple 's (NASDAQ: AAPL) smaller 0.8% gain. That further narrowed the market capitalization gap between the two Nasdaq tech stocks , raising the question of whether the software giant could overtake the iPhone maker to become the Nasdaq-listed company with the highest valuation in the market.
Many investors might not recall that Microsoft has been atop the market capitalization list in the past. Back in 1998, the tech boom helped lift the Windows maker's market cap to more than $260 billion, helping Microsoft surpass General Electric to take the top spot.
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Can Microsoft Beat Apple to Become the Most Valuable Nasdaq Stock?