Apple's market value breaches $3 trillion mark again

Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) market capitalization on Friday breached the $3 trillion mark for the first time since January last year, as investors bet on the iPhone maker's ability to grow revenue even as it explores new markets such as virtual reality.

Shares of Apple, which is also the world's most valuable- listed company, were up 1.3% at $191.99 in morning trading. They have jumped nearly 46% this year and, at the current price, the company's market value stands at $3.02 trillion.

Apple's market value briefly peaked above $3 trillion in intra-day trading on Jan. 3, 2022, before closing the session just below that mark.

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The gains in Apple shares come as technology stocks rebound on bets that the Federal Reserve may be slowing its pace of interest rate hikes as well as on the buzz around artificial intelligence.

Apple's less-than-expected fall in sales in its most recent quarterly report has highlighted the tech giant's resiliency in an uncertain economy and reinforced its reputation among investors.

Currently, four other U.S. companies have a valuation of more than $1 trillion - Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O).