Apple reaches $2 trillion market value as tech fortunes soar

Apple has become first US company to boast a market value of USD 2 trillion as techlogy continues to reshape a world where smartphones are like appends and digital services are like instruments orchestrating people's lives.

iPhone maker reached USD 2 trillion milestone in Wednesday's early stock market trading when its shares surpassed USD 467.77.

stock later backtracked, but it didn't diminish a remarkable achievement that came just two years after Apple became first US company with a USD 1 trillion market value. It comes amid a devastating pandemic that has shoved ecomy into a deep recession and caused unemployment rates to soar to worst levels since Great Depression nearly a century ago.

But Apple and or well-established tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook and Netflix have thrived during upheaval as pandemic has forced millions of people to work, attend classes, shop and entertain mselves at home.

That, in turn, has made techlogy even more crucial, a factor that has caused investors to snap up stocks of industry's biggest players, as well as relative newcomers, such as video conferencing service Zoom, which has seen its shares quadruple so far this year.

Apple's stock has climbed nearly 60% this year. In recent weeks, rally has been bolstered by excitement over a four-for-one stock split that Apple anunced late last month in an effort to make its shares more affordable to a wider swath of investors.

broader boom in tech stocks also has helped benchmark S&P 500 index reach new highs after steep declines earlier in year. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Google's parent company, Alphabet account for nearly 23% of S&P 500's entire value.

Apple isn't first company in world to reach a market value of USD 2 trillion. That hor belongs to energy producer Saudi Aramco, which attained it in December 2019. Saudi Aramco w trails Apple with a market value of about USD 1.8 trillion.

w that techlogy has clearly become oil of 21st century, or industry leaders could soon be joining Apple in USD 2 trillion club, w that it is clear techlogy has become oil of 21st century. Many industry analysts are predicting Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet could eclipse milestone in upcoming months too.

But regulators and lawmakers looking into allegations that Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook have been illegally abusing ir power to stifle competition could spook investors if ir investigations result in moves that undercut companies' profits.

t all techlogy companies are doing as well as y were before pandemic. Google, for instance, suffered first quarterly revenue decline from previous year in its history during April-June period as advertising sales that generate most of its profit tapered off amid pandemic-driven lockdowns across U.S.

But Apple has fared extraordinarily well, buoyed by timely April debut of a new iPhone model priced at about USD 400, 40% to 60% less than fancier devices that it released last fall. company will face ar litmus test in October when it is expected to unveil a line-up of new iPhones, including a model capable of connection on next generation of ultra-fast wireless networks kwn as 5G.

next wave of high-priced iPhones, coming out a few weeks later than usual because of production delays caused by pandemic, are expected to test depths of Apple's customer loyalty as well how much people are willing to spend during tough times for most people outside techlogy industry.