Apple closes at record high for first time since 2015

Its increase helped balloon the S&P 500's market capitalisation beyond $20 trillion

Shares of Apple rose to a record high close on Monday, buoyed by Wall Street's expectations that the release of a 10th-anniversary iPhone and pent-up customer demand will shore up lacklustre sales.

The largest component of the S&P 500 and a core holding on Wall Street, Apple's stock climbed 0.9 percent to end at $133.29, breaking above its record high close of $133.00 hit on Feb. 23, 2015 and giving it a market value of about $699.3 billion.

Its increase helped balloon the S&P 500's market capitalisation on Monday beyond $20 trillion for the first time.

Apple has climbed 50 percent from lows in the first half of last year and is up 15.1 percent so far in 2017. It was still short of its all-time intraday high of $134.54, set on April 28, 2015.

Monday's gain came after Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski raised her price target for Apple to $150. She said she is more confident that an upcoming 10th anniversary iPhone will feature augmented-reality technology, which could help boost demand in a saturated smartphone market.