Apple stocks dramatically rose on Thursday immediately after Apple CEO Steve Jobs took to the stage to launch the new iPad 2.

Currently on medical leave, Jobs opened the company’s press conference with the line “We’ve been working on this product for a while and I didn’t want to miss today.”

Whether or not he wanted to miss it, the fact that he was well, able, and back on stage was clearly liked by the markets as Apple stock rose from $350.40 a share to an instant high of £353.60 within 6 minutes of his appearance.

It wasn’t until the end of the hour-long press conference in San Francisco that the stock price eventually eclipsed that figure, presumably on the news that the new iPad 2 would be launching in the US next week. Stock ultimately hit a peak of $354.23 around 3pm New York time before starting to drop back down again as details of the launch trickled out and the initial excitement ebbed away. The market eventually closed Apple stock up at $352.12.

The news will be a mixed message for Apple investors.

On the one hand they will be pleased that Apple's stock has been boosted by the announcement of the new tablet and Mr Jobs' appearance; however on the downside, while Apple will no doubt put it down to the excitement of the new iPad 2, many will see that Steve Jobs is the reason the company performs on the stock market as well as it does, and  forcing them to maybe question whether without the leadership of Jobs the company will have the vision to pull off launches like this in the future.