Apple's surge in stock value could be partly attributed to the anticipated launch of a new iPhone. (Creative Commons)

The creator of MacBooks and iPods saw its market value — the price of its stock multiplied by the number of outstanding shares — hit $623 billion in intraday trading, according to CNN. That surpassed Microsoft’s record of $618.9 billion set in 1999. However, Microsoft’s all-time high would be worth $851 billion in 2012 dollars.

Now at more than $661 a share, Apple makes up 4.7 percent of value of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and 24 percent of the value of all tech companies in the S&P 500, USA Today reported. The increase in Apple’s stock value could be attributed to optimism around the planned September launch of the iPhone 5, and possibly a cheaper iPad.

"The low-hanging fruit of the tablet and smartphone market is taken care of," Argus Research's James Kelleher said. "Apple has to keep reinventing the wonderful every nine months, which is a tall order for any company."

Read the full story at CNN or USA Today. For more on Neon Tommy's coverage of Apple, click here.

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