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Apple nudges out Exxon Mobil for top spot on Wall Street

iSlick move in volatile trading market

Apple briefly shunted Exxon Mobil into the No. 2 spot on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday to become the most valuable company in the US.

The oil giant was restored to the top of the pile at close of trading on Tuesday, which was another difficult day on Wall Street. Late last week America slipped from the much-desired 'triple A' sovereign credit rating to 'AA+'.

Since then, trading has been extremely changeable on the NYSE.

Despite all that, Apple's brief flirtation at the top of Wall Street, as reported by Reuters, was considered significant by market analysts, who suggested that it was the iPad and iPhone maker's destiny to eventually take a more permanent seat in the No. 1 slot.

Cupertino's value climbed to $341.5bn yesterday afternoon, just ahead of Exxon Mobil's $341.4bn trading figure.

The oil beast - whose annual revenue dwarfs Apple's - regained its composure by end of play, however. Exxon's market cap stood at $348.3bn, closely followed by Apple at $346.7bn.

But the power switch was telling, given that it was the first time in five years that Exxon had slipped out of pole position on Wall Street.

It's important to note that Apple isn't the first tech company to ascend to the top as the most valuable firm in the US. IBM and Microsoft have both found themselves in the same slot, reported Reuters.

Towards the end of the '90s, it was a very different story for Apple, which issued profit warnings and at one point, not long before founding father Steve Jobs returned to the fold, looked set to iMplode. What a difference a fondleslab or two makes... ®

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