Recent manufacturing and construction data suggest the U.S. economy will continue growing, but still not as much as many hoped. The Institute for Supply Management this morning released its heavily watched manufacturing index, which stood at 55.4 in May, up slightly from 54.9 in April and above the 50 market that indicates expansion in the sector.
The Commerce Department also said that construction spending was up 0.2% in April to a $953.5 billion annual rate, the highest since March 2009.
Market indexes took the news with some apathy today, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.46%) was up just 0.11% after losing some ground earlier in trading. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.19%) was down 0.25%, in part because of a 1.1% decline in shares of Apple (AAPL -0.91%).
Today's update should ensure that more people are tied to their iOS and OSX devices. Image source: Apple.
Buy the rumor, sell the news
Apple previewed updates for iOS and OSX today at its Worldwide Developers Conference, better known as WWDC. Apple introduced features that improve collaboration between devices, improved iCloud services, and stronger developer functionality, but the market hasn't taken the news well.
What's important to keep in mind is that Apple's stock has risen considerably in the past year and is up about 20% in just over a month.
The "sell on the news" crowd is at work again today despite some interesting new features for Apple devices. For example, a new health app will allow you to integrate health-related data into one place and even pull data from Epic's health-care information.
This also wasn't the place for Apple to introduce groundbreaking new products. Those usually come in the summer or fall, when iPhone and iPad refreshes are expected and new mobile devices and/or an Apple TV update could be in store.
Investors shouldn't panic at the drop in Apple's stock price and can take some positives from today's announcement. The upgrades to iOS and OSX will keep Apple users even more intertwined and offer more features that Android and Windows Phone don't have. Integration and collaboration are keys to making Apple's products "stickier," which helps drive earnings over the long term.
