Apple's market cap surpasses $300 billion

With a pop in its share price on the first trading day of 2011, Apple Inc. (AAPL) has now surpassed the $300-billion level in terms of market cap.

As of 12:38 p.m. (EDT), Apple shares were up $7.19 per share, or 2.22 percent, as part of a broad market rally.

Since it passed Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) last May, Apple is now the world’s largest technology company and the second biggest stock on the planet, behind ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), which is valued at about $374-billion.

It will be interesting to see if Apple can close the gap between itself and the number one spot, given that Exxon shares are likely to benefit from what are expected to be a bullish environment for oil prices.
Still, with its wildly successful suite of products, Apple’s future seems as sparkling as ever.