Saudi Arabian Oil Company briefly hit a record high on Monday, taking its market capitalisation close to that of Apple in the race for the world’s most valuable company.

The rally in oil prices has boosted the world’s biggest oil company’s shares, while a broader sell-off has put Apple under pressure.

Apple, which has held the market cap title since 2020, has been hit by higher interest rates that fuel concerns about future earnings growth for technology companies. The iPhone maker declined 2.4% in premarket trading, suggesting that it could shed $60bn (R972.6bn) in market value to $2.49-trillion versus Saudi Aramco’s $2.44-trillion.

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