3 Things Under the Radar This Week

Investing.com - Here’s a look at three things that were under the radar this past week.

1. Apple Has a Stealthy Month

Amazingly, Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) are having a great June, up more than 14%, tops among the 30 Dow stocks and sixth best among stocks in the Nasdaq 100.

The "amazingly" part of the statement is that almost no one has noticed it or, if they have, they've been saying something like, "Well it's a fluke."

Is Apple doing all that well? It does have a big problem in China, where most of its products are made and is a key to the future of the iPhone, which is the company's biggest revenue generator. The worry, for many is that the U.S. trade dispute will delay the introduction of ultra-fast 5-G iPhones.

Still, Apple is generating mounds of cash that will shelter the company if a full-scale trade war erupts. Its iTunes business is growing nicely and it has a rapidly growing subscriptions business. It sells subs for its own products and for other companies.

The top Dow stock this year is Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), followed by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), both of which hit all-time highs on Friday as the Dow moved modestly higher. Microsoft and Cisco are the third- and fourth-best Dow stocks this month.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is the top Nasdaq 100 stock because CEO Elon Musk has been able to convince investors better times are ahead.

2. Speaking of Tesla...

On Monday, the Tesla CEO tweeted that he had deleted his Twitter account, but soon resumed sharing bumblebee memes and retweeting Tesla news.

It seems Musk is still addicted to social media. And his tweet about deleting his Twitter account? Gone. Still, investors seem hopeful that Tesla’s controversial CEO might just start acting the part. Musk’s Twitter trolling has caused a lot of stress for investors and regulators alike.

He has had a number of erratic tweets over the years, including telling his followers in August 2018 he was thinking about taking the company private for $420 a share (possibly a reference to marijuana culture). That tweet cost Musk his chairmanship of Tesla and a $40 million fine to the SEC.

Musk’s latest stunt to delete his Twitter account may have given some investors hope that he is ready to grow up, but it’s come at a time when the company is under a lot of financial pressure.

In May Musk told employees he would personally review all of the company’s expenses after its losses in the first quarter were worse than expected.

3. What’s the Business?

Business conditions have been a red flag for the economy this week.

The New York State Empire Manufacturing Index dove into negative territory this week. Even though it’s a region that doesn’t have much manufacturing comparatively, it still shook the bond market when it hit the red.

Later, the Philly Fed index almost went to 0, registering 0.3 for June.

But some investors may not have seen the Morgan Stanley Business Conditions Index (MSBCI), which dropped a huge 32 points in June.

That’s “the largest one-month decline on record, to a level of 13, a low since Dec. 2008. Fundamental indicators pointed to a broad softening of activity,” Morgan Stanley said.

The MSBCI composite index fell 12 points, the largest one month decline since October 2008.

“Analysts highlighted a range of factors behind their responses this month,” Morgan Stanley said “Interesting color came from the consumer sector, where analysts flagged weak 1Q earnings results and lowered expectations for full year 2019 sales and earnings”

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