Watch out Big Oil. Here comes Big Apple.
Steve Jobs' tech juggernaut at one point overtook Exxon Mobil to become the world's most valuable company yesterday, closing a multibillion market-cap gap during the day's trading before dropping back to second place.
The Cupertino, Calif.-company, which was among the stars of yesterday's stock rally, closed with a value of $346.47 billion -- just behind Exxon Mobil at $352.9 billion.
All of Wall Street was fixated on the iPad maker's stock when at about 12:45 p.m. it overtook the oil giant to become the world's No. 1 company based on stock value.
Apple seemed poised to win with about a half hour to go before the close of trading but Exxon shares had a late bounce to end the day ahead.
Exxon shares closed up about 2 percent at $71.64, while Apple shares rose 5.9 percent to $374.01.
Analysts have been expecting Apple to make a grab for Exxon's Wall Street crown. There is even a school of Apple evangelists who predict the company will attain a $1 trillion market cap by the end of the year.
Apple is riding high on soaring sales of iPhones, Macs and iPads and is taking market share in a number of gadget categories among consumers and businesses worldwide.
Meanwhile, Exxon -- along with the rest of the oil industry -- has taken a hit with the prospects of another global recession and a requisite decrease in demand for its black gold.
Apple's rise is all the more dramatic considering it had been left for dead by Microsoft mania in the late 1990s. Jobs returned in 1997 and orchestrated a turnaround with one revolutionary product after another starting with the iPod in 2001.
Still, it wasn't until last year that Apple finally surpassed Microsoft as the most valuable tech company and the No. 2 company overall based on market cap. gsloane@nypost.com
Steve Jobs' tech juggernaut at one point overtook Exxon Mobil to become the world's most valuable company yesterday, closing a multibillion market-cap gap during the day's trading before dropping back to second place.
The Cupertino, Calif.-company, which was among the stars of yesterday's stock rally, closed with a value of $346.47 billion -- just behind Exxon Mobil at $352.9 billion.
All of Wall Street was fixated on the iPad maker's stock when at about 12:45 p.m. it overtook the oil giant to become the world's No. 1 company based on stock value.
From that point on the two companies duked it out for the market cap title.
Apple seemed poised to win with about a half hour to go before the close of trading but Exxon shares had a late bounce to end the day ahead.
Exxon shares closed up about 2 percent at $71.64, while Apple shares rose 5.9 percent to $374.01.
Analysts have been expecting Apple to make a grab for Exxon's Wall Street crown. There is even a school of Apple evangelists who predict the company will attain a $1 trillion market cap by the end of the year.
Apple is riding high on soaring sales of iPhones, Macs and iPads and is taking market share in a number of gadget categories among consumers and businesses worldwide.
Meanwhile, Exxon -- along with the rest of the oil industry -- has taken a hit with the prospects of another global recession and a requisite decrease in demand for its black gold.
Apple's rise is all the more dramatic considering it had been left for dead by Microsoft mania in the late 1990s. Jobs returned in 1997 and orchestrated a turnaround with one revolutionary product after another starting with the iPod in 2001.
Still, it wasn't until last year that Apple finally surpassed Microsoft as the most valuable tech company and the No. 2 company overall based on market cap. gsloane@nypost.com
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