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Google stock hits record on growing advertising drive

Google Inc's stock reached a new high on Friday, reflecting Wall Street's renewed faith in the Internet search leader as it introduces new ways for advertisers to reach its steadily expanding online audience.

The stock peaked at US$560.79 before falling back to finish at US$560.10, up US$7.27, or 1.3 percent.

The rally eclipsed Google's previous record high of US$558.58 attained in mid-July, just days before the Mountain View-based company disillusioned investors with a second-quarter profit below analyst estimates.

Google, founded just 9 years ago, now has a market value of almost US$175 billion, more than long-established technology bellwethers like Hewlett-Packard Co and IBM Corp. The stock has increased by more than six-fold from its initial public offering price of US$85 in August 2004.

The latest run-up in Google's stock represents a turnaround from a little over a month ago when the shares briefly dipped below US$500 amid the stock market turmoil triggered by a home mortgage meltdown that raised fears about a recession.

Those worries have lessened because of the Federal Reserve Bank's decision to lower short-term interest rates by 0.5 percentage point in a move expected to free up more money for consumers and businesses to spend.

Despite aggressive challenges by rivals like Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp, Google has been able to widen its lead in search -- the activity that triggers the text-based ad links that have become a huge moneymaker.

Last month, Google handled 54 percent of all US search requests, up 50 percent at the same time last year, according to the research firm Nielsen/NetRatings Inc. Yahoo lagged well behind at 20 percent followed by Microsoft at 13 percent.
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