Microsoft catching up to Apple in market value

Apple is at risk of losing its title as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company. A steep decline in the iPhone maker’s share price has left its market capitalization roughly the same as Microsoft for the first time in more than eight years. Currently, Apple has a market cap of $817.7 billion, meaning it has shed nearly $300 billion in value after cresting a record $1.1 trillion valuation in early October. Microsoft’s market value is about $816.3 billion. Apple has slid amid growing concerns the company is seeing weak demand for iPhones, by far its biggest product line. Shares have fallen more than 25 per cent from record levels. Shares of Apple were slightly lower in midday trading on Monday, while Microsoft jumped 2.4 per cent. According to Rich Ross, a technical analyst at Evercore ISI, Apple’s stock “has another 18 per cent downside,” which could take the stock to $140.