Apple is slowly but surely closing in on Microsoft in market cap.

According to Standard & Poor’s analyst Howard Silverblatt, Apple’s float-adjusted market capitalization reached $241.5 billion Thursday, edging past Microsoft’s $239.5 billion.

Said Silverblatt: “It came right down to the trade, but AAPL has an index market value of $241,534 million and MSFT has a market value of $239,515 million–AAPL is #2.”

Which means Apple (AAPL) is now second only to oil giant Exxon Mobil (XOM) on the S&P–on the index’s float-adjusted basis.

But on a full-market value basis–which, as Dan Frommer explains over at Business Insider, includes “shares that are closely held by control groups, other publicly traded companies or government agencies”–Microsoft (MSFT) remains firmly in second place, with a market cap of $275 billion–significantly larger than Apple’s.

So this float-adjusted achievement of Apple’s is really more of a psychological milestone than anything, one made possible only because S&P is counting just the 87 percent of Microsoft’s shares that are available for public trading. Below, a chart from Silicon Alley Insider that shows more clearly what’s happening.

[Chart credit: Business Insider]

Earnings from a spate of top digital companies will be reported in the coming days, including for Google (April 15), Yahoo (April 20), Apple (April 20), eBay (April 21), Netflix (April 21), Amazon (April 22) and Microsoft (April 22).

Most Wall Street analysts expect good news from the group as a whole, especially as the economy recovers. Bright points include the e-commerce and advertising markets, both of which have been rebounding.

In addition, extensive cost cuts over the last year and easy year-over-year comparisons for most companies will brighten the financial picture.

That’s the hope at least, especially since tech stocks have been performing less robustly than the S&P of late.

Of all the tech companies, analysts are most worried about Google (GOOG), which has seen its share price pushed down over a variety of issues.

There are good reasons for long-term concern, despite expected strength in its core search business, when the search giant reports tomorrow. But from its battle with China to possible regulatory scrutiny from the federal government to its escalating fight with Apple, Google is an ongoing digital soap opera.

And while its Android mobile operating system is growing, there are still questions about if and when Google can make bank from the business.

Yahoo (YHOO), the perennial weakling in recent quarters, is getting much better reviews, especially as the display ad market improves. Also a plus: Cost savings from its online ad and search partnership deal with Microsoft (MSFT).

Yahoo’s stock has been rising of late above its consistent $15 range to over $18 yesterday. Crossing to a $20 a share price would be a significant Rubicon for Yahoo.

Apple (AAPL), though, seems to have remained an investor darling and is expected to turn in another stellar quarter. Investors will be looking to hear if the company will release actual iPad sales results, which some think the secretive company is lowballing.

Also of interest are sales of its powerhouse iPhone, as well as any more news on the new operating system for it.

For eBay (EBAY), improvements in its main marketplace business, as well as continued strength in its PayPal division, will be closely watched by investors.

But continued pressure from a range of new and old competitors and eBay’s ability to respond and grow remain a worry.

Netflix (NFLX), though, is hindered only by existing bullishness around the stock. Wall Street is expecting strong results from the online video rental company, especially as it continues to add subscribers and innovate its intense customer service focus.

For Amazon (AMZN), the impact of the Apple iPad and e-book prices will likely get a lot of attention, even though it has a much larger business beyond its Kindle e-reader. The improvement in the e-commerce arena is likely to be a boon to Amazon.

Last of all to report will be Microsoft, whose earnings are more complex, given its many businesses.

While the focus will be on sales of Windows 7, in the digital arena, analysts will likely be interested in the status of its Yahoo partnership, the gains in search share for Bing and what plans the software giant has related to the cloud-computing arena.

Big winners so far include Blue Nile (NILE), up 73 percent; Expedia (EXPE) up 68 percent; and Amazon (AMZN) up 44 percent. Moderate winners, comparatively speaking, include Google (GOOG) up 27 percent; eBAY (EBAY) up 21 percent; and Yahoo (YHOO) up 22 percdent.

Here’s the full breakdown of the 16 Internet stocks Mahaney covers (click table below to enlarge):

I usually steer well clear of opining/guessing about stock prices and the like, but I think it’s worth considering Mahaney’s note, both for his explanation and for the potential impact of the stocks’ run.

The explanation: Part of this is basic what-goes-down-must-go-up market yo-yoing–Internet stocks got pummeled worse than the rest of the market last year so it’s easier for them to bounce back. But Mahaney also thinks that most of the stocks he follows are going to turn in the worst performance, earnings-wise, in the quarter we’re in now. Investors like that because it means that things can only get better.

The impact: Remember the old days when public companies could use their shares as currency to acquire smaller companies? Well, we’re not headed back there quite yet. But a sustained rally sure could kick-start the M&A market, which will make things more interesting for the likes of me, at the very least.

[Image credit: joshmadison]

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An ugly blow for Motorola (MOT). With the economy in a deadspin and stronger rivals like Nokia (NOK) lowering handset sale expectations, things are looking decidedly bleak for the company.

An ugly blow for Motorola (MOT). With the economy in a deadspin and stronger rivals like Nokia (NOK) lowering handset sale expectations, things are looking decidedly bleak for the company.

The Nasdaq’s slide is the eighth largest ever in terms of points, and the third biggest ever on a percentage basis. The index has been tracked since 1971.

The only two days which were worse on a percentage basis include the 11.4 percent slide by the index on Black Monday, Oct. 19, 1987, and the 9.7 percent drop on April 14, 2000.

While selling was widespread, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite suffered the worst decline today of the major indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 748 points, or 6.7 percent, to 10,394.92, the worst day ever for the index in terms of points. The S&P 500 dropped 102.7 points, or 8.5 percent, to 1,110.27.

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