US tech giant Apple managed to ride the wave of Monday's historic rally with its shares surging by more than 9.3 percent in what would be its best trading day in more than 11 years. By the end of the day, the company gained around $24.45 per share, contributing to the surge of major indexes in the United States.
Apple's stock price surge on Monday contributed to around 172 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, sending its shares up by a total of 1,296 points. Shares of the Cupertino-based giant ended the day at $298.91 per share. At its highest point during trading, the company's shares reached $301.44, slightly below its peak of $327.20 last month.
The rally in its stock prices this week sent the company's total market valuation by a massive $111 billion, an increase that closes to the total supply of tech giants such as IMB. The surge drove Apple's total market valuation to around $1.3 trillion.
Stock prices of Apple's major suppliers also saw a slight bump earlier in the week. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which lists a number of Apple's large suppliers, managed to surge by 1.9 percent on Monday. Other indexes unrelated to the company also surged, including the S&P 500, which surged by 2.8 percent.
The company's stocks have been placed under a lot of pressure since last month after it announced that it does not expect to hit its the previous forecast for its latest quarter ending this month. Apple previously forecasted that it would hit revenues for the quarter of around $63 billion to $67 billion.
The forecast is slightly pessimistic with the company explaining that the recent viral epidemic in China has negatively affected its supply chain and overall operations. The company does heavily rely on several suppliers in China, which produce components for its iPhones and other gadgets. Apart from affecting its supply chain and production, the epidemic has also resulted in a drop in the company's sales in the country as consumers is no longer visiting its retail shops amid the government-imposed lockdown in some Chinese cities.
Apple's slightly low prediction prompted Wall Street analysts to also adjust their sales estimates for the company's latest quarter ending this week. The average consensus forecast for the company's sales stood at around $61 billion, lower than Apple's own guidance. More optimistic analysts have stated that the damage done to the company's supply chain may only be temporary and no fundamental changes will likely occur to its long-term outlook.
