Apple's Halo Shines

Apple's (AAPL Quote) halo seemed a little more distinct on Tuesday following two reports that highlighted market-share gains for the company's computers.

Second-quarter sales of Macintosh computers grew faster than the market according to two separate reports released late Monday. The results, which confirmed comments made by company management last week, marked the third straight quarter of share gains for the company.

The gains are further evidence that the so-called halo effect is real, said Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray, in a research note on Tuesday. Analysts such as Munster have predicted that the popularity of Apple's iPod digital music players would draw in new customers for Apple's Macintosh computers. ...