The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Apple's stock climbed to a record high close on Wednesday and was on the cusp of a $3-trillion market capitalization (all figures U.S.). A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that the iPhone maker's stock rose to end the day at $189.25, putting Apple's market value at $2.98-trillion. It was the second straight record high close for Apple's shares. Apple has yet to end a trading session with a stock market value above $3-trillion. It briefly peaked above $3-trillion in intraday trading on Jan. 3, 2022, before closing the session just below that mark. The latest gains in the shares of the world's most valuable company follow strong rebounds this year from several of Wall Street's tech-related heavyweights, fuelled by bets that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its campaign of interest rate hikes, and optimism about the potential for artificial intelligence. "There hasn't really been any new information fundamentally that would be supportive of the stock move," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. "What you're left with is, you know, the market itself." Apple has jumped 46 per cent in 2023, while Nvidia has surged 185 per cent.