Shares in Apple Inc. set another recording closing high Tuesday, ending the day at US$568.10, up $16.10 (2.92 percent). The move came amidst a broad market rally that saw all three major indices rise—the NASDAQ ended the day above 3,000. With a record close comes a record market cap of $529.7 billion.
Three month Yahoo! Finance AAPL chart (with helpful annotations)
AAPL has been on a tear in 2012, rising some $163.10, or 40.3 percent, from its $405 close at the end of 2011, as shown in the chart above. The rise was kicked into gear with the company’s December quarter results that were announced in January. The stock was also goosed by the announcement of the company’s new iPad. which was announced on March 7th and will ship on Friday, March 16th.
Apple’s stock trades on the NASDAQ, and its gains helped push the index to 3039.88, up 56.22 (1.88 percent). This is the first time since December of 2000 that the NASDAQ has flown at such lofty heights, making it the highest close since the tech bust that began that year.
The DOW also did well, ending the day at 13177.68, a gain of 217.97 (1.68 percent). That’s the highest close since May of 2008, the beginning of the most recent economic downturn.
Which makes Tuesday, March 13th, a good day for lots of people.
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a tiny, almost insignificant share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.