| 1 | FILE - In this Thursday, May 9, 2013 file photo, people walk near the Apple store in Santa Monica, Calif. | 
| 2 | Even after its recent slump, Apple's market value is still two thirds bigger than Microsoft, the next biggest publicly-traded company in the U.S. That means that when Apple moves, so does the market. | 
| 3 | At $654 billion, Apple is the stock market's heavyweight. | 
| 4 | Like a handful of other "big cap" companies such as Microsoft and Exxon Mobil, the iPhone maker's market value means that when its shares move, so can the market. | 
| 5 | And these are the companies that influence your stock portfolio. | 
| 6 | "The combination of Apple's size and price moves, results in an enormous impact on indices," says Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst for S&P Dow Jones Indices. | 
| 7 | Lately, Apple's influence has been a drag. | 
| 8 | Since closing at a record $133 on February 23, Apple has slumped to $115.40, wiping $115 billion off the value of its stock. | 
| 9 | Between then and Wednesday's close, the Standard & Poor's 500, the most widely-tracked stock index, was down 0.5 percent. | 
| 10 | Without Apple, the decline would have been a gain of 0.1 percent, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, the company behind the S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones industrial average. | 
| 11 | Of course the opposite is also true, when Apple's shares rise, the market can get a lift. | 
| 12 | Either way, for every $1 change in Apple stock, the S&P 500 rises or falls 0.6526 points, says Silverblatt. | 
| 13 | The impact of the technology giant is so big that S&P Dow Jones Indices has created a technology index that excludes Apple. | 
| 14 | That allows investors to separate what's going on with tech stocks from what's going on with Apple because, while they're similar, the two might not be the same. | 
| 15 | For example, the S&P 500 information technology sector is down 1.3 percent since Apple's record close. | 
| 16 | Take out Apple and the group has actually gained 1.8 percent. | 
| 17 | History suggests that companies as dominant as Apple don't tend to stay top dog for long. | 
| 18 | Competitors emerge, new products roll out, and growth can slow. | 
| 19 | Exxon Mobil, which Apple surpassed to become the biggest publicly-traded company in August 2011, has slumped over the last year along with the price of oil. | 
| 20 | To be sure, Exxon Mobil is still big, with a market value, or capitalization, of $322 billion. | 
| 21 | But it has slipped to third in the ranking of S&P heavyweights, behind Microsoft. | 
| 22 | In the early 1980s, computer company IBM was the stock market's big gun. | 
| 23 | Personal computers were still a new concept and IBM was one of the industry's dominant players. | 
| 24 | At the end of 1985, the company's stock made up 6.4 percent of the S&P 500's total value, much bigger than Apple's current 3.6 percent. | 
| 25 | Since then, the company has had to grapple with fierce competition from more nimble rivals. | 
| 26 | Like Exxon, Big Blue is still powerful, but it now ranks as the 28th largest in the S&P 500, making up 0.8 percent of the index. | 
| 27 | Below are the six biggest companies in the S&P 500, ranked by market capitalization, which is determined by shares outstanding multiplied by stock price. | 
| 28 | Weight in S&P: 3.6 percent. | 
| 29 | Market Value: $380 billion. | 
| 30 | Weight in S&P: 2.1 percent. | 
| 31 | Weight in S&P: 1.7 percent. | 
| 32 | Market Value: $276 billion. | 
| 33 | Weight in S&P: 1.5 percent. | 
| 34 | Market Value: $261 billion. | 
| 35 | Weight in S&P: 1.4 percent. |