Apple loses most valuable company title

Apple shares have fallen further, meaning that it has been overtaken by oil giant Exxon Mobil as the world's most valuable publicly-traded company.

The iPhone-maker's stock fell 2.4% to $439 a share for a market value of $413bn (£261bn). Exxon's value is currently around $418bn.

Its shares have fallen almost 40% since hitting a record $702 in September.

The tech giant has been hit by fears over its future growth, despite record profits.

The firm said late on Wednesday it had sold more iPhone (47.8 million) and iPads (22.9 million) in the final three months of last year than in any previous quarter, but investors had expected yet more.

On Thursday, about $50bn was wiped off Apple's value after the biggest daily drop in the firm's stock in four years.

Apple is also facing fierce competition from rivals like Samsung, which accounted for one in four of all mobile phones shipped worldwide last year, according to Strategy Analytics.

Apple's share price rose sharply following a revival under Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, which came about first in computers and then the iPod music player, and was then followed by the iPhone and iPad.

Apple's shares were worth as little as $3.19 in 1997 when it faced the possibility of bankruptcy.