**Update: Apple stock closed Thursday down $2.46, or just 0.65 percent.**
All of Wall Street’s eyes were on Apple Thursday morning, the day after Steve Jobs announced he was resigning as CEO of the Silicon Valley giant.
The 56-year-old Jobs, who has been on medical leave since mid-January, said Wednesday afternoon that he “could no longer meet [his] duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO." The man behind such innovations as the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, has been suffering from a long-term illness. In 2009, Jobs had a liver transplant. Outside of that announcement, he has been as guarded about the details of his illness as he has the release dates for many of his company’s popular products.
Interim CEO Tim Cook will take over for Jobs, who will continue to serve the company as chairman of the board.
While this move doesn’t come as a huge surprise, it’s one many investors faced with uncertainty. Wall Street wasn’t reacting too dramatically to the news as of 10:09 a.m. ET – Apple stock was down a little more than $5, or 1.5 percent.
Jobs co-founded Apple back in 1976 but was ousted from the company in 1985 before returning in the mid-90s. As Apple began releasing some of its iconic products in the last decade, the company’s stock began an incredible six-year run – jumping from $44 at the beginning of 2005 to the $370 where it stands today.
