Source: Zhitong Finance "Since 1950, the S&P 500 index has risen more than 10% 21 times as of the end of May. In about 90% of these cases, the S&P 500 index rose for the rest of the year. There were only two instances of declines for the rest of the year, in 1987 (-13%) and 1986 (-0.1%)." With the rebound of the stock market, the old adage "Sell in May and Go Away" seems to have been a bad advice once again. Last month, the S&P 500 index rose 4.8%, the best May performance since 2009. The NASDAQ 100 index rose nearly 6.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite Index rose 6.9%. Goldman Sachs FICC & Equities Trading Division said: "History doesn't really support this saying. Don't sell, leave the market (go on vacation), and enjoy the good times." The rising trend is still to be continued? If history is any guide, it may indicate that the rise of the stock market is not over yet. Looking ahead to the rest of 2024, Scott Rubner, Managing Director of the Goldman Sachs Global Markets Division and tactical expert, pointed out the following historical background for investors. Rubner stated that the S&P 500 index has risen 10.7% year-to-date, and since 1950, the S&P 500 index has risen more than 10% 21 times as of the end of May. In about 90% of these cases, the S&P 500 index rose for the rest of the year. There were only two instances of declines for the rest of the year, in 1987 (-13%) and 1986 (-0.1%). "Since 1950, the median return of the last 7 months of each year (June 1 to December 31) is 5.4%. In the aforementioned 21 cases, the average performance of the last 7 months increased to 8.1%." Rubner added. Rubner also pointed out that the NASDAQ index has risen for 16 consecutive Julys, with an average return of about 4.64%.

$Apple (AAPL.US)$ The latest release of iPhone has once again sparked discussions in September about pre-order demand. An analyst from Morgan Stanley has stated that investors need to ignore these 'noises'.

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Apple officially released the highly anticipated iPhone 16 during the Glowtime online live event last week. Before the event, Wall Street analysts had a positive attitude towards the upgrade demand for this new iPhone, especially because users were hoping to get new generative AI software features through the upgrade. However, this release event left Wall Street feeling unsatisfied. From then until the close on Tuesday, Apple's stock price fell by 1.9%.

One concern among investors is the global release schedule for Apple's AI updates. The company stated that the English version of Apple Intelligence for the US will be released in October, while localized English versions will be launched in some countries in December, and language versions such as Chinese, French, and Spanish will not be released until next year.

Due to the time required for the global promotion of these updates, competition from other smartphone manufacturers, and the ongoing economic pressures faced by consumers, some analysts believe that the demand for the new iPhone in the short term may be lower than expected.

Barclays analyst Tim Long stated in a research report on Monday that pre-orders for the iPhone 16 in the Chinese market have declined compared to the same period last year. Long gave Apple's stock a "underweight" rating and set a target price of $186.

Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring, on the other hand, gave Apple's stock an "overweight" rating and set a target price of $273. In his report on Wednesday, he pointed out that the current iPhone demand data does not reflect future demand and believes that it's too early to judge the iPhone shipments for the next 12 months. He wrote, "The delivery time of the iPhone 16 is shorter than last year, but at this early stage, delivery time as a proxy indicator of demand does not have strong predictive ability. The delivery time changes in the next 10 days are more important."

Rather than focusing on the short-term upgrade cycle of iPhone 16, Woodring is more bullish on the future smart devices. He stated: "Considering that most apple investors (including ourselves) believe that the 2026 fiscal year and iPhone 17 will be the bigger cycle- the delivery time data for iPhone 16 in the short term has little impact on this view- we believe that any downward valuation or short-term stock underperformance will be bought on dips, leading to a brief dip period, after which investors will turn their attention to the profit capability of iPhone 17 and the 2026 fiscal year, which is also the basis for our $273 target price."

On Wednesday, Apple's stock price rose by 1.8% to $220.73, while the S&P 500 index was almost flat. Apple's stock price has risen by about 15% year to date.

Editor / jayden