Strong Performance from Apple Helps the Dow Jones Reach Record High

Apple’s surprisingly strong quarterly results and forecast pushed the iPhone maker’s shares to a record high, helping the Dow Jones Industrial Average breach the 22,000 mark for the first time ever.

Apple soared 6 percent in the first few minutes of trading Wednesday, accounting for all of the Dow’s gain. Apple reported another strong quarter and released a strong forecast late Tuesday.

Apple’s fiscal third-quarter profit and sales were better than experts had anticipated, as the world’s biggest tech company posted earnings of $1.67 USD a share on revenue of $45.41 billion USD.

Apple said all-time iPhone sales topped the 1.2 billion mark during the three months ended in June after 41.03 million units were shipped during the quarter, a 1.6% increase from the same period last year.

Some experts feared that delays for the next iPhone model would cause Apple would forecast far lower sales. The stock rose as much as 6.4 percent at $159.65 USD in early trading, boosting the market capitalization of the world’s most valuable company by about $50 billion USD to $832 billion USD.

“The Appleverse is expanding with all segments growing,” UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said.

That forecast suggested that Apple could launch its newest iPhone model – expected to be called the iPhone 8 – in September, despite earlier rumors of a possible delay.

Apple is widely expected to adopt an OLED display for the highly-anticipated iPhone 8, along with better touch screen technology and wireless charging – which could come with a price tag over $1000 USD.

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