San Francisco, Jun 30 (AP) Apple is near to becoming the first publicly traded company to close a trading day with a USD 3 trillion market value, marking another milestone for a technology juggernaut that has reshaped society with a line-up of products that churn out eye-popping profits.

As of 2 pm ET Friday, Apple shares were up almost 2 per cent, bringing its intraday market value to USD 3.04 trillion. Apple is one of a handful of technology companies, including Microsoft and chipmaker Nvidia, that have helped drive the S&P 500 to a gain of more than 15 per cent in the first half of the year.

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The 47-year-old company co-founded by Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs had briefly eclipsed a USD 3 trillion market value on back-to-back days in January 2022, but couldn't hold on by the time the market closed.

Microsoft is the second-most valuable public company at USD 2.53 trillion. Oil giant Saudi Aramco has a market value of USD 2.08 trillion.

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Although the significance of reaching a USD 3 trillion market value is largely symbolic, its magnitude is still breathtaking.

Consider, for instance, that USD 3 trillion could buy nearly 9 million homes in the US, based on the average sales price during the past year as calculated by Zillow.(AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)