Apple earnings exceed expectations

APPLE shares reach a record at the start of trading on Wall Street, pushing the market value of the tech giant closer to almost 1 trillion pound.

The shares increased more than 5% to above $200, close to the roughly $206 price needed to make it a $1tn company.

The rose came after Apple reported strong demand for its most expensive iPhones, boosting quarterly revenue despite just 1% growth in shipments.

The average iPhone price hit £552, well above the expected $694.

The firm stated its £800 iPhone X – launched last year – remained its most popular iPhone model in the quarter and had driven the higher sales price.

Revenue growth of 31% in Apple’s services business, which includes the App store, Apple Music and Apple Pay, also boosted the firm’s performance.