Much like the rivalry between Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) for America’s most valuable company, sector exchange traded funds tracking technology and energy are neck and neck so far this year in terms of performance.
Apple briefly displaced oil giant Exxon this week as the largest company in the U.S. by market cap, WSJ’s Heard on the Street reports.
However, Exxon took back the title on Thursday thanks to a rise in oil prices, the Associated Press reports.
On Tuesday, the value of Apple shares hit $341.5 billion in volatile trading, slightly beating out Exxon’s $341.4 billion, report Poornima Gupta and Rodrigo Campos for Reuters.
However, Exxon finished with a market-cap of $348.3 billion with Apple trailing at $346.7 billion at the close.
The occurrence, while notable, is interpreted as more symbolic of the changing times.
“Technology is what people understand now,” remarked Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners. “At some point it used to be the radio, before that it was trains. So I think it’s sort of indicative of our society.”
Apple will join the ranks of an elite group of companies that have enjoyed holding the number one spot in the S&P 500, including General Electric Co (NYSE: GE), General Motors (NYSE: GM), IBM Corp (NYSE: IBM), Microsoft Corp (NasdaqGS: MSFT), AT&T Inc (NYSE: T), DuPont (NYSE: DFT), Philip Morris Cos (NYSE: PM) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT), according to Standard & Poor’s Index Analytics.