New York, Sep 19 (IANS): Apple's stocks closed higher than $700 per share for the first time after Tuesday's trading, as orders for its new iPhone 5 hit a new record.

The share price of Apple gained 0.3 percent to $701.91 per share when the market closed.

It is now the world's most valuable company measured by market value if inflation is not considered, Xinhua reported.

Although some reviews of iPhone 5 dismissed it as having no significant improvement, its orders topped two million during the first 24 hours of its debut last Friday.

iPhone 5's screen grew to 4 inches from 3.5 inches for earlier models. It's also the thinnest and lightest cell phone model of the company.

"Demand for iPhone 5 exceeds the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders will be delivered to customers on Sep 21, many are scheduled to be delivered in October," the company said Monday.

Despite the record high share price, some analysts still believed Apple's share would rise further and rated it as "buy" from the perspectives of both technical analysis and positive outlook of iPhone 5 sales.