After Apple announced a plan to increase manufacturing investments in the United States by $100 billion over the next four years, bringing the total to $600 billion (approximately 830 trillion won), its stock recorded the largest weekly gain in over five years.
According to the New York Stock Exchange on the 9th (local time), Apple's stock closed at $229.35 (319,140 won), up 4.24% from the previous day on the 8th. On that day, the stock price was the highest closing level since March 7 (at $238.76).
Apple's stock started at $202.38 on the 1st and surged 13% over the week. The economic media outlet CNBC analyzed that this marks the largest weekly gain in about five years since July 2020.
The market capitalization also increased by more than $400 billion over the week, swelling to $3.4 trillion (approximately 4,700 trillion won). It also narrowed the gap with NVIDIA (at $4.455 trillion), the current market cap leader, and Microsoft (at $3.88 trillion), in second place.
This stock rise is interpreted as reflecting expectations that Apple would be exempt from the tariff imposed by the Trump administration on semiconductor imports, following the announcement of a large-scale investment plan in the U.S. on the 6th.
Apple CEO Tim Cook met with President Trump at the White House and announced plans to increase U.S. manufacturing investments by $100 billion over the next four years, thereby winning the favor of President Donald Trump. In May, President Trump had stated that he hoped iPhones sold in the U.S. would be manufactured in the U.S. and warned that otherwise, they would have to pay a tariff of at least 25%.
The market had been concerned that tariffs from the Trump administration could significantly undermine Apple's profitability. Apple projected that if there were no changes, tariff expenses would exceed $1 billion alone in this quarter (July to September).
According to CNBC, President Trump announced in a public meeting that as Apple increases its U.S. production, it would be exempt from tariffs that could double the price of imported semiconductors.
Samik Chatterjee, an analyst at JP Morgan, noted in a report on the 6th that "Apple and CEO Tim Cook demonstrated best practices in managing uncertainty during several months of exposure to potential risks from tariffs," and he maintained an 'overweight' rating on Apple stock. Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities reiterated a 'buy' recommendation for Apple on that day, setting a 12-month target price of $270.