Apple could use a spring fling

Apple Inc. has some new stuff to announce. Which is good, as 2021 has proven to be a bad time for the world’s most valuable company to leave a news vacuum.

Apple shares jumped 2.4% Tuesday after the company announced an April 20 event to showcase some unnamed new products. Before that, the stock was off 1% for the year—by far the worst performer among megacap tech giants. Even Tuesday’s bounce leaves the company trailing; Microsoft, Amazon.com, Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet Inc. have averaged a gain of 16% since the first of the year compared with Apple’s 1.3% rise.