Shares of Apple Set Another All-time Record, Keeping Title of Most Valuable Company

Shares of Apple, the most valuable technology company, set another record Monday as they closed at $453.01, up $5.73.

The record close for the Cupertino, Calif.-based developer of computers and consumer electronics and vendor of entertainment values Apple at a record $422.4 billion.

That places Apple about $13 billion ahead of ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. energy company, whose shares closed Monday at $85.49, valuing the Irving, Texas-based oil and gas giant at $409.8 billion.

Some of the market activity may anticipate ExxonMobil's plans to report fourth-quarter financial results Tuesday. Analysts expect ExxonMobil to report net income of $1.95 a share on revenue of $119.7 billion.

Last week, Apple's first-quarter results shredded analyst estimates as it reported net income of $13.97 a share on revenue of $46.3 billion as sales of the iPhone 4S and iPad2 soared in the last quarter of 2011.

Meanwhile, the price of crude oil for March delivery declined 78 cents, about 0.8 percent, to $98.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Technology shares in the Standard Poor's 100 Index rose about 0.5 percent.