Apple became the first company to find a market value of $3 billion, and then slipped

 On Monday Apple Inc became the first company to acquire a stock market value of $3 trillion, just before the end of the day hair down that record, as investors bet the iPhone maker will continue to launch the best-selling brand as it explores new markets such as automotive and virtual reality. On the first day of trading in 2022, Silicon Valley company shares reached a record high of $182.88, setting Apple's market value at just over $3tr. Stocks ended the session by 2.5 percent at $182.01, with Apple's market capitalization at $2.99tr.

 The world's most important company has reached a milestone as investors bet that consumers will continue to earn more money through iPhones, MacBook, and services such as Apple TV and Apple Music. 

 "It's a beautiful thing and deserves to be celebrated," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "It just shows you how far Apple has come, and how it is visible to the eyes of most investors."

Apple shared the $2trn market value club with Microsoft Corp, which is now worth about $2.5tr. Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc, and Tesla Inc have market values above $1tr. Saudi Arabian Oil Co is valued at about $1.9tr, according to Refinitiv.

 "The market is rewarding companies that have strong fundamentals and balance sheets, and the companies that are hitting these sort of huge market caps have proven they are strong businesses and not speculation,” said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Apple's shares have climbed around 5,800pc since co-founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in January 2007, far outpacing the S&P 500's (.SPX) gain of about 230pc during the same period.

Under Tim Cook, who in 2011 became chief executive following Jobs' death, Apple has sharply increased its revenue from services like video streaming and music.

That helped Apple reduce its reliance on the iPhone to about 52pc of total revenue in fiscal 2021 from over 60pc in 2018, pleasing investors worried the company relied too much on its top-selling product.

Still, some investors worry Apple is hitting the limits of how much it can expand its user base and how much cash it can squeeze from each user, with no guarantees that future product categories will prove as lucrative as the iPhone.

The rapid embrace of technologies such as 5G, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence has also increased the allure of Apple and other Big Tech companies.

In China, the world's largest smartphone market, Apple continued to lead for the second straight month, beating rivals such as Vivo and Xiaomi, recent data from Counterpoint Research showed.

With Tesla now the world's most valuable automaker as Wall Street bets heavily on electric cars, many investors expect Apple to launch its vehicle within the next few years.

"The icing on the cake, which may turn out to be the cake, is the potential for an EV car," Rhys Williams, chief strategist at Spouting Rock Asset Management said.

 Just as Apple's market capitalization hits the $3tr milestone, its share price as a percentage of the Nasdaq 100 index's value is bumping up against a key technical level. In recent prior times, the stock price has risen above such a level and then subsequently declined.