June 17 (Reuters) - ** Shares of Apple Inc ( AAPL )

climbs 2.1% with the iPhone maker on track to close with a

market cap of $3.33 trln, more than any company in history, with

Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ) both close behind

** AAPL now up ~10% since June 7, just before the co

unveiled a long-awaited AI strategy, integrating "Apple

Intelligence" tech across its suite of apps including Siri and

bringing OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT to its devices

** AAPL's stock has underperformed Wall Street's other

heavyweights in 2024, but the recent surge has elevated its

market cap back above MSFT and NVDA

** The three cos remain in tight contention for the crown of

the world's most valuable co. MSFT on Mon was up 0.9%, giving it

a value of $3.32 trln, while NVDA was up 0.1% with a market cap

of $3.24 trln

** AAPL is up 13% in 2024, while MSFT has gained 19% and

NVDA has soared 166%

(Reporting by Noel Randewich)