Does Apple truly have this much control over the hardware world? A month ago I’d say no. But today, I am finding myself having some second thoughts about the matter.

The computer hardware sector rose steadily through the morning and early afternoon on Thursday, led by a continued rally in shares of Apple (AAPL | charts | news | PowerRating). By the mid-afternoon, the space was showing a gain of 1.3% - taking it to a new 52-week high.

Thursday’s advance came as Apple moved further higher. The maker of computers and portable media players rallied sharply during Wednesday’s session after the company released software that allowed customers to use Microsoft’s (MSFT | charts | news | PowerRating) Windows software on its Mac computers. The gain continued on Thursday, with the stock climbing an additional 6.4%. With the advance, shares of Apple reached their highest level since late March. Source: Trading Markets Live

[tags]computers,mac,computer hardware sector[/tags]