As Goes Apple, So Goes September

Traders work in the ten-year U.S. Treasury Note options pit at the Chicago Board of Trade in Chicago, Illinois.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Traders work in the ten-year U.S. Treasury Note options pit at the Chicago Board of Trade in Chicago, Illinois.

What's going to happen to stocks in September? I said this week that if you can tell me what will happen in Europe, and what will happen with Apple, I can tell you what will happen to the stock market. (Read more: Stocks Lifted by Fed, Close Higher for August)

My friend and former producer, Robert Hum, told me that not only is September the worst month for the S&P 500, it is far and away the worst month for Apple as well.

Since 1986, Apple is down an average 3.4 percent in September versus the Nasdaq Composite, which is down an average of 0.2 percent and the S&P 500 which is down 0.8 percent on average.

September is 1 of just 2 months that Apple has averaged a decline in the last 26 years.

Here are the monthly stats Robert provided to me:

Avg. Performance for Apple:

September -3.37%

June -2.16%

December 0.71%

May 1.35%

February 2.47%

November 2.54%

July 3.59%

April 3.63%

March 4.32%

August 5.53%

October 5.82%

January 6.36%

There’s plenty of reason besides this to think September could be volatile for Apple: there is all sorts of talk that the iPhone 5 might be delayed by parts shortages. (Read more: iPad Mini 'Would Kill Most' 7-Inch Rivals)

—By CNBC’s Bob Pisani

_____________________________
Bookmark CNBC Data Pages:

_____________________________

Want updates whenever a Trader Talk blog is filed? Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/BobPisani.

Questions? Comments? tradertalk@cnbc.com