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Nvidia Founder, President and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang introduces the Nvidia Spot, a USD 49.95 microphone and speaker that will let owners use Google Assistant anywhere in a home, as he delivers a keynote address at CES 2017 at The Venetian Las Vegas on January 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs from January 5-8 and is expected to feature 3,800 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 165,000 attendees.

Nvidia has grown at an eye-popping pace, to the point where it carries a valuation equal to that of China's stock market as a whole.

In a new research note from Bank of America, chief investment strategist Michael Harnett noted that Nvidia's $600 billion surge in value over the past two months has pushed its market cap to $1.7 trillion, on par with all Chinese-listed companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange combined.

The chipmaker behemoth's market cap has nearly quadrupled since the start of last year. Its stock soared 239% in 2023, and is up 41% this year alone, through Thursday. Only four US public companies are worth more.

Meanwhile, China's economic malaise has sent stocks tumbling lower. Lackluster economic growth and a prolonged real-estate crash have weighed on the market. The country has also been dealing with deflation. The Hang Seng index, a benchmark for Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks, has dropped 26% over the past year and 8% year-to-date.

But Hartnett noted there could be an opportunity for investors who can identify Chinese stocks with strong management, balance sheets, and strong earnings. He notes the precedent of Japan's Nikkei collapse in the early 1990s, which then saw a select group of 15 companies possessing those characteristics rallying to a 400% bull market.