INSTANT VIEW: Apple CEO begins treatment for hormone imbalance

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on Monday he had been losing weight in 2008 due to a hormone imbalance, but he has begun treatment and expects to regain his body mass by late spring.

Jobs said he would continue as CEO of the iPhone, iPod and Mac computer maker during his recovery, and Apple's board issued a statement in support of him. Shares of Apple rose 2.5 percent to $92.99 in pre-market trading.

COMMENTARY

DAVID LUTZ, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF U.S. EQUITY TRADING,

STIFEL NICOLAUS CAPITAL MARKETS IN BALTIMORE

"I think that is going to relieve a lot of the concerns of the stock. The stock has definitely been lagging moves the broader market has had.

"You haven't seen any insider sales out of the company, they have a massive cash position and now you got Steve Jobs sending a letter to the board outlining exactly what's wrong with him, what the course is and that it's very optimistic. So I think you might have a lot of the concern that's been in the stock get off of it, and if anything, you're going to see a short-covering reaction pretty early."

VIJAY R. RAKESH, ANALYST, THINKEQUITY LLC

"It's very positive that he came out and said this. I think it does put to rest all the speculation on his health and I think people will now start to focus on the business.

"I think obviously this is very good for Apple and the stock because Jobs has been an innovator. He steered the company into a lot of new products.

"There was speculation about Macworld. There was speculation that there might be a more sinister announcement post-Macworld, and obviously this puts to rest a lot of it.

"We have a buy rating on the stock."

(Reporting by Herb Lash and Ritsuko Ando, compiled by Tiffany Wu)