Apple Inc is within striking distance of a $3 trillion market capitalization, a milestone that would make it as big as the world's fifth largest economy after Germany, just over a year after breaching the $2 trillion mark.

Shares of Apple were up 1.6% at $174. They need to trade at $182.85 to hit the mark and cap a strong rally that has been powered by investors betting on its brand and viewing it as a comparative safe haven.

"Apple does seem to be more immune to the ebb and flow of economic forces just because of this really strong brand. It's new product pipeline is pretty strong too," Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said.

You could read more about this at Reuters.

With a market cap of 3 Trillion, that would mean that Apple would be larger than the economy of the U.K at GDP 2.83 Trillion and France at 2.78 Trillion, which will drive the EU's antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager absolutely crazy.