RIYADH — Saudi Aramco briefly topped the list of largest companies by market capitalization on Tuesday with a market value of $2.464 trillion, surpassing US tech major Apple Inc.’s value of $2.461 trillion.

Shares of the Saudi oil giant hit its highest level at SR46.20 in early trading on Tuesday on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul). Aramco’s stock price slightly retreated later in the day to trade at SR46.05 as of 11:53 a.m. Saudi time, implying a market valuation of SR9.21 trillion.

With the latest share movement, the company is now the second-largest firm by market cap after Apple.

Aramco has been constantly hitting record highs, thanks to strong oil prices that continue to soar to date.

Microsoft came in third place with a market value of $1.978 trillion. — SG