Apple's $2 trillion market capitalization is so big that it's now worth almost as much as the entire UK stock market
- Apple's stock price has ballooned so much in recent weeks that it is on track to be worth more than the entirety of the UK's benchmark share index, the FTSE 100.
- The tech giant became the first US-listed company to reach the $2 trillion mark this week.
- According to data from Bloomberg, the FTSE is worth just shy of $2.2 trillion.
- If Apple's stock rises 7%, it will surpass the FTSE in market capitalization.
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Apple's stock price has ballooned so much in recent weeks that it is on track to be worth more than the entirety of the UK's benchmark share index, the FTSE 100.
On Wednesday, Apple closed at $467.18 per share, crossing the $2 trillion market capitalization milestone in the process.
By comparison, the UK's FTSE 100, which comprises the 100 biggest UK-listed companies by market cap, is worth $2.16 trillion according to Bloomberg data, meaning Apple is bracing to soon be bigger than the entire index.
Apple's market cap is $2.02 trillion as of 10 a.m. ET Friday, meaning it would need to gain around 6.9% to surpass the FTSE's valuation.
Apple's stock has exploded about 114% since closing at a low of $224.37 in March.
Apple's stock price since the start of the year
The S&P 500 hit a low of 2237 in March during the initial pandemic rout. Since then, the index has staged a dramatic turnaround and risen by around 51%. It is up around 5% since the start of 2020.
Apple's stock market growth comes amid massive stimulus by the Federal Reserve, expectations of a COVID-19 vaccine, and investor optimism on the type of economic recovery that awaits the US post-COVID-19.
Apple has broken significant market-cap milestones in the past. It was also the first US company to reach a market value of $1 trillion back in August 2018.
Saudi owned oil giant Saudi Aramco is the only other company to have achieved the $2 trillion valuation, reaching that milestone in December last year, just one day after its initial public offering.
Investors have flocked to technology stocks such as Apple, Tesla, and Amazon during the pandemic, pinning their hopes on these stocks surviving the economic shock of the virus better than the rest of the market.
Apple also recently announced recently announced its fifth stock split to broaden its base of investors.