Apple Rises After IPhone Media Report

APApple Rises After IPhone Media ReportFriday May 25, 1:55 pm ET By Rachel Metz, AP Business Writer
Apple Shares Rise Following Media Report That IPhone Will Be Launched June 20
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Apple Inc. rose Friday after a media report stated the company's much-anticipated iPhone will be released June 20.

Apple shares added $1.83 to $112.52 in afternoon trading. Apple's shares have been rising steadily over the past year, hitting an all-time high of $115 on Wednesday. Growth in recent months has been fueled by speculation and consumer excitement over the hybrid phone and media player.

Late Thursday, CNBC reported an AT&T phone store told the network that the iPhone is expected to be available on June 20. Store personnel said the store would not take pre-orders but may have a waiting list as of the week before the launch, CNBC said.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris would not confirm or deny the date. However, she noted "We have said consistently that we're looking forward to shipping the iPhone in late June and that has not changed."

Whenever the product launches, it will be available at both AT&T cell phone stores and Apple stores, Kerris said.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel also confirmed the product is still on track to launch in late June. "We're not going to get more specific than that," he said.

Siegel said he did not know where the June 20 date came from.

Clerks contacted at eight AT&T stores in New York said they had been told the iPhone would launch on dates ranging from June 11 to June 22.

American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu said rise in Apple's share price Friday is being fueled by the CNBC report.

"It gives investors higher confidence it will be launched on time," he said.

As far as he knows, no date has been set yet for the phone's release.

"What we do know is it's going to be in the second half of June, likely in the last week or so," he said.

Wu doesn't know how likely it is that iPhones will appear on June 20. But Apple watchers may be skeptical of the day -- a Wednesday -- as Apple tends to launch products on Mondays and Tuesdays.