Microsoft edges toward $1 trillion valuation, boosted by cloud business

Microsoft Corp.’s cloud computing business fueled quarterly sales and profit that topped analysts’ estimates, boosted by several new deals with large corporate clients.

The company’s shares rose as much as 5.1 per cent Thursday morning in New York, briefly pushing its valuation across $1 trillion before pulling back slightly. The move nosed the software maker ahead of Apple Inc. as the world’s most valuable company. The two tech giants, along with Amazon.com Inc., are all within striking distance of the symbolic $1 trillion mark as their stocks have rallied this year.