Apple shares closed at an all-time high of $648.11 on Friday (August 17), a rise of 1.85% placing the company’s market capitalisation at $607.54 billion.

The new figure extends the tech firm’s lead as the world’s most valuable company with Exxon Mobil Corp in second place with a market capitalisation of just $408.1 billion.

The jump in Apple share prices is being attributed to anticipation over new hardware, including new iterations of the iPhone and iPad, as well as reports ...