Apple adds nearly 50 points to Dow’s 332-point rally after report that Buffett bought 75 million shares
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slashed an opening 150-point drop to close sharply higher Friday, on the back of a pop in Apple Inc. . Shares of Apple contributed the most to the price-weighted Dow after a report from CNBC late Thursday said Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. acquired some 75 million additional shares of the iPhone maker during the first quarter. Apple’s stock closed at a record, up 3.9%, or $6.94, at $183.83, contributing about 48 points to the Dow, with a $1 move in any one of the blue-chip gauge’s 30 components equating to a 6.89-point swing. The closed up 332 points, or 1.4%, at 24,262. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index ended up about 1.3% at 2,663.42, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced by 1.7% at 7,209.62. Apple is the largest company by market value and tends to have an outsize influence on market-value weighted indexes like the Nasdaq and S&P 500.