Another day, another Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) milestone.
On Wednesday, the house that Jobs built reached the half-trillion-dollar mark, jumping to a $506 billion market capitalization as AAPL shares jumped in the morning before receding to a 1.3% gain to $542.69. Just a couple weeks after hitting the $500 mark, Apple stock has gained another 9%, with the investing world doing a tap dance of anticipation over next week’s launch of the iPad 3.
Apple’s yearlong push also helped the Nasdaq reach the 3,000 point briefly Wednesday before it receded back to 2,966. However, InvestorPlace’s Daniel Putnam suggests that investors trying to read much into the big-number mark should look at other indices because much of the Nasdaq’s growth has come off Apple and rival Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Streaming video giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) shed more than 2% on the last day the service will offer Liberty Media’s (NASDAQ:LSTZA) Starz content. While Netflix has buffered itself against the loss by making deals with Dreamworks (NASDAQ:DWA), CBS (NYSE:CBS) and Disney (NYSE:DIS) — and even airing its own original content — Starz was the source for much of Netflix’s high-profile programming.
Gold prices also took a dive Wednesday, and the hit was felt across the board. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) and iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) were down more than 5%, and gold miners represented by the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) and Market Vector Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) slid by 3.4% and 5.2%, respectively.
Three Up
- ITT Corp. (NYSE:ITT): Up 7.5% ($1.75) to $25.10.
- PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM): Up 6.3% (52 cents) to $8.82.
- Vivus (NASDAQ:VVUS): Up 6.4% ($1.36) to $22.62.
Three Down
- Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX): Down 14.5% ($4.01) to $23.63.
- Sodastream International (NASDAQ:SODA): Down 14.2% ($6.75) to $40.75.
- First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR): Down 11.3% ($4.10) to $32.30.
Kyle Woodley is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out recaps from previous trading days here.
