Apple ended the week at a record high after Warren Buffett bought 75m shares in the first quarter

US technology company Apple ended the business week with its share price at a record high yesterday, after business billionaire Warren Buffet revealed he had upped his stake in the company.

Buffett revealed he had bought 75m shares in Apple during the first quarter through his Berkshire Hathaway firm, which drove the share price up almost four per cent over the day to a record high of $183.83.

The rising shares were helped along by Buffett’s comments that near-term obsessing over iPhone X sales “totally misses the point”.

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The company has recently been developing its business outside the traditional smartphone and computer lines into areas such as Apple Music and Apple Pay.

Berkshire Hathaway has been scooping up shares in Apple since 2016. By the end of last year, it owned almost 3.3 per cent of the iPhone maker – it now owns roughly 4.8 per cent, worth more than $44bn.

Apple’s shares now only need to rise by around another $14 apiece, or roughly seven per cent, to give the business a market valuation of $1 trillion.

Earlier this week, Apple defied critics in its first quarter results by meeting expectations on the number of iPhone sales and reporting a 25 per cent rise in profits to $13.8bn.

It has also said it will complete a $100bn share buyback to return cash to shareholders.

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