Shares of Asustek Computer rose 3.54% on Wednesday to close at 761.00 Taiwan dollars, adding 26.00 Taiwan dollars, as the personal computer and server maker's stock extended a sharp rally driven by surging global demand for artificial intelligence hardware. Wednesday's close compares with a previous close of 609.00 Taiwan dollars just one session earlier, according to trading data, underscoring the pace of the stock's recent ascent. Asustek's most recent quarterly earnings report showed net profit surging 34% year over year to 4.82 billion Taiwan dollars, equivalent to roughly $160.9 million, up from 3.60 billion Taiwan dollars in the same period a year earlier. That result fell short of analyst expectations, however, with Wall Street forecasts having called for net profit of 4.37 billion Taiwan dollars. Revenue for the quarter climbed 31% to 94.20 billion Taiwan dollars, up from 71.67 billion Taiwan dollars a year earlier.