Apple share tops $700 as iPhone 5 sales set record

Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc, speaks about iPhone 5 during Apple Inc.'s iPhone media event in San Francisco, California in this September 12, 2012, file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

NEW YORK - Apple's stocks closed higher than $700 per share for the first time after Tuesday's trading, as orders for its new iPhone 5 hit a new record.

The share price of Apple gained 0.3 percent to 701.91 dollars per share when the market closed. It is now the world's most valuable company measured by market value if inflation is not considered.

Although some reviews of iPhone 5 dismissed it as having no significant improvement, its orders topped 2 million during the first 24 hours of its debut last Friday, beating the record of its last generation, iPhone 4S.

iPhone 5's screen grew to 4 inches from 3.5 inches for earlier models. It's also the thinnest and lightest cell phone model of the company.

"Demand for iPhone 5 exceeds the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders will be delivered to customers on September 21, many are scheduled to be delivered in October," the company said on Monday.

Despite the record high share price, some analysts still believed Apple's share would rise further and rated it as "buy" from the perspectives of both technical analysis and positive outlook of iPhone 5 sales.