MUNICH, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 29: Tim Cook, CEO Apple, during the Oktoberfest 2019 at Kaeferschaenke beer tent.
Gisela Schober | German Select | Getty Images
The broad stock market rally that’s lifted U.S. indexes to record highs has been very good to Big Tech.
Microsoft, Apple and Google parent Alphabet all closed at all-time highs on Friday, as investors continue to brush aside fears of a trade war and economic slowdown, focusing instead on the companies’ financials and dominance in their respective markets.
All three tech giants reported better-than-expected revenue in their latest earnings report last month, and Microsoft and Apple also beat estimates on profit.
On Friday, Microsoft gained 1.2%, Apple inched up 0.3%, and Alphabet rose 0.2%.
Apple has climbed in seven of the past eight trading days and reached a market cap of $1.16 trillion, making the iPhone manufacturer the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company, just ahead of Microsoft at $1.11 trillion. Apple’s stock is up 65% in 2019 and Microsoft has gained 44%, both trouncing the S&P 500, which has climbed 23%.
Alphabet has performed only slightly better than S&P 500 for the year, gaining 25% in 2019. But the company had the best week among the Big Tech crew, with the stock rising 2.9%. It’s notched gains in five of the past six trading days, making the company’s close on Thursday its highest since April.
The three companies combined now account for about 12% of the value of the S&P 500.
The stock market has been riding a wave of optimism regarding trade negotiations with China that’s propelled the Nasdaq Composite to six straight weekly gains and the S&P 500 to five consecutive positive weeks.
The other two mega-cap tech companies are still off their record highs reached last year. Amazon has dropped 12% from its highest close in September 2018, and Facebook is 12% off its record close from two months prior.
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