Steve Jobs' resignation as chief executive of Apple Wednesday sent the company's shares tumbling 5.3 percent in after hours trade.
The shares of the maker of the iconic iPhone and iPad fell to $356.10 after closing normal trade at $376.18, following the announcement that the long-ailing company founder would step down.
Despite worries since the beginning of the year that Jobs was no longer healthy enough to actively lead the company, Apple's shares had steadily risen all year on the phenomenal success of the iPhone and iPad, gaining 16.6 percent from January 1 to the close of official trade Wednesday.
The company briefly surpassed ExxonMobil as the world's most valuable company two weeks ago, before settling back to the number two slot, at $349 billion in market capitalization at the close Wednesday.