How will Apple shares fare with Jobs' passing?

Updated: 11:35 a.m. ET Thursday

Steve Jobs lived long enough to see Apple (AAPL) become the most valuable company in the world. But on the day he died, at age 56, exactly six weeks after resigning as the CEO of the company he co-founded, Apple was the second-most-valuable​ company in the world.

The stock was up 1.2% to $382.94 in morning trading Thursday. As of Wednesday's close, it sported a market capitalization of $350.7 billion. That's second only to that of Exxon Mobil (XOM), which rose 1.5% Wednesday, closing at $73.95. Its market cap was $359.4 billion.

Apple's market cap had been greater than Exxon's between Sept. 8 and Monday. On Tuesday, Exxon took the title back.

Jobs' death now raises the uncomfortable question: Was Apple's stock price all about Steve Jobs?

We won't know the long-term answer for some time.

Apple is a volatile stock. It has always been a volatile stock, and, between its hitting an all-time high of $422.86 on Sept. 20 and Wednesday, it dropped 10.6%. 

Exxon's change over the same time frame -- from the high on Sept. 20 through Wednesday's close: down 1.4%. The change for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX): was 4.8%. The Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX) fell 4.9%. Apple represents about 12% of the index's value.

One big reason for Apple's volatility has been its popularity among hedge funds, whose managers in recent years have seen Apple as the one stock they had to own. That's great while the market is stable or rising. But when the market has fallen apart and hedge funds were forced to raise cash, they sold Apple.

At the end of 2007, Apple's shares briefly topped $200 and finished the year at $198.08. It never came close to that level in 2008 and did not bottom until Jan. 20, 2009 -- the day Barack Obama became president -- at $78.20. That was a decline of 60.5%. The Nasdaq's loss was 45%.