What happened
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shareholders beat the market on Monday as the stock rose 2% by 3:30 p.m. ET compared with a 1% rise in the S&P 500. The iPhone maker benefited from brightening expectations around consumer tech spending over the next few quarters.
So what
Apple stock participated in a rally for tech giants that included well-known growth names like Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Tesla, which all beat the market on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index was up 1.2% by late Monday compared with a 1.1% boost in the S&P 500.
Image source: Getty Images.
Investors are excited about Apple's growth prospects both in the short term and over the next several years. The company in late October announced strong sales momentum heading into the holiday shopping season, across its hardware and services segments.
Demand appears solid for its core smartphones, computers, and tablets, and there's a packed pipeline of new releases on the way. One particularly exciting offering is an entirely new device rumored to appeal to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) fans in 2022 and beyond.
Now what
Apple's 2022 performance might be another one for the record books if these positive factors continue lifting the business, and if the AR and VR markets find wide consumer acceptance -- likely with Apple's help.
That's why more investors are choosing to buy the tech leader's stock and push it near another record high for 2021. There's more enthusiasm flowing into the tech sector on the last Monday of trading in 2021, and that's good news for Apple's stock.
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Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Demitri Kalogeropoulos owns Apple, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Tesla. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Apple, Meta Platforms, Inc., Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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