For the first time in almost a year, all of Apple Inc.’s US retail stores are open.
That stage, along with the weekend news that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B,
is still up 5.4% of the technology giant’s share, Apple AAPL shares sent,
jumping over 5% months, the biggest gain in the last four months.
Apple closed all stores outside of China on March 13, 2020, while the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe. Its stores in China closed in February.
But as of Monday, all 270 Apple stores in the US were open in a certain quality, although some still have restrictions, such as for programming only. Stores in Texas were last reopened Monday, after further delays caused by the crippling winter storm of February.
9to5 Mac was the first to report the openings. He also said that the only Apple stores that remain closed worldwide are about a dozen in France and Brazil.
A number of US stores have reopened since May, but many have been forced to close again as the pandemic worsened and local restrictions tightened. Reopened stores are seen as somewhat clear in local business conditions and are an encouraging sign of an economic recovery, as COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed more and cases are falling nationally.
Apple shares rose more than 5% month-on-month, the best result since a 6.4% rise on October 12th. Apple shares have fallen 3.7% so far, but have risen 71% in the past 12 months compared to the Dow Jones DJIA industry average,
gains of 3% this year and 18% in the last year.