Apple shares rise following Samsung Galaxy Note 7 misery

Samsung's loss is Apple's gain as the US tech giant appears to be reaping the benefits of its competitors' exploding phone troubles by reaching its highest share price of 2016.

The South Korean smartphone maker announced on Tuesday that it would be permanently discontinuing its Galaxy Note 7 phone following numerous problems with its battery catching fire.

Apple finished trading on Monday at $116.05, its highest level since December 2015, and rose a further 1.98% in premarket on Tuesday.

Tech fans are likely to be considering whether the Samsung brand can now be trusted after a disastrous run which included a global recall of 2.5m phones.

Samsung replaced the first batch of devices with new ones, but the issue has persisted even in replacement models.

Apple stand to be the big winners of Samsung's falterings, as well as Google, who have recently launched their own flagship smartphone, the Pixel.

S&P analyst Angelo Zino said that the US company's iPhone may sell millions more in the aftermath of the Note 7 issue.

"We see a more favorable competitive landscape and higher Android switcher rates for Apple over the next 12-18 months," Zino said.