Apple briefly tops ExxonMobil in market cap

Apple briefly surpassed ExxonMobil on Tuesday to become the largest US company in terms of market value. The market capitalization of both Apple and ExxonMobil was more than $340 billion with the California gadget-maker edging past the oil giant at around 1:20 pm before falling back, Meeschaert analyst Gregory Volokhine said.Apple dethroned software giant Microsoft in May of last year to become the largest US technology company in terms of market cap -- the number of shares outstanding multiplied by the stock price.Apple shares were up 3.50 percent at $365.58 in mid-afternoon trading on Wall Street.ExxonMobil shares were down 1.33 percent at $69.26. Apple stock has risen steadily over the past few years as chief executive Steve Jobs piloted the release of a string of hit products starting with the iPod in 2001, followed by the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad last year.