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| A lady uses an iPhone mobile device as she passes an illuminated Apple logo at the Apple shop at Grand Central Terminal in New York City, U.S., April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar |
May 5 (Reuters) - Apple's (AAPL.O) shares jumped roughly over 5% on Friday, reaching a nine-month high and on course for its greatest one-day gain since November after the iPhone maker's quarterly results comforted investors concerned about a looming recession.
The jump in Apple's shares lifted confidence throughout Wall Street, helping raise the S&P 500 (.SPX) and Nasdaq (.IXIC) over 1.5% after CEO Tim Cook's findings late on Thursday reinforced the durability of corporate profits in a quarterly reporting season that so far has been less awful than predicted.
"Apple eased the market due of its constancy of execution. Tim Cook has a solid hand on the wheel," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
"Investors in uncertain times want certainty, and Apple, as well as Microsoft (MSFT.O), are as close as you can get to certainty," Dollarhide noted.
The world's most valuable corporation reported decreased sales and earnings for the quarter ended April 1, but still topped analysts' estimates. With Apple's performance aided by growing countries like India, executives stated gross profit margins for the upcoming quarter will be higher than projected.
Apple's stock market worth surged by over $100 billion to roughly $2.7 trillion, expanding its lead over Microsoft, the world's second most valuable business, at $2.3 trillion.
Last trading at $173.48, the Cupertino, California company's shares were poised to register their greatest one-day rise since Nov. 30. They were barely shy of a high of almost $176 in August.
Apple's stock has recovered about 40% from its closing low in January, and it is presently down only 4.7% behind its record high close in January 2022. By contrast, the S&P 500 remains down 15% from its record high closing, also in January 2022.
At least 13 analysts upped their price targets for Apple's shares after its announcement, with the consensus estimate jumping to $180 from $170 before the news, according to Refinitiv data.