Apple shares surpass $600 amidst new iPad launch

Shares in Apple temporarily rose above $600 for the first time in the company’s history yesterday amidst anticipation for today’s new product launches.

Shares fell away below the milestone soon after to $592.8, Bloomberg reports, valuing the world’s richest company at $552 billion.

This values the company as wealthier than countries such as Poland and Belgium.

Apple broke the half a trillion landmark on February 28th, with shares prices then valued at $535.41.

This means the company has added more than $50 billion to its worth in less than three weeks, largely thanks to its newly launched iPad and Apple TV’s devices.

Apple has claimed that demand has been for the next-generation tablet has been “off the charts” since its reveal last week, and said it had sold out of pre-orders for the device.