The most popular stocks and funds investors bought in June
The de-escalation in trade tensions between the US and China was one major development this month. After Trump accused China of violating the deal the two countries made in Geneva, June got off to a rocky start with concerns that a trade truce had already faltered.
However, following a phone call between Trump and China's president Xi Jinping, trade representatives met in London and later announced that a framework to move forward had been agreed. Towards the end of June, Trump announced that the US and China had signed a deal.
Read more: Stocks that are trending today
As tariff tensions eased, conflict in the Middle East escalated with Israel and Iran launching air strikes as talks with the US over Tehran's nuclear programme appeared to have stalled. Trump announced a US-brokered ceasefire, which Israel later accused Iran of breaking, before the US president intervened again to help re-establish the truce that appears to have held since last week.
The focus has now shifted back to the progress of trade talks between the US and its trading partners, as as the 9 July deadline for the resumption of Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs looms.
In terms of market performance last month, the UK's FTSE 100 (^FTSE) hit a fresh record high on 12 June, closing at 8884.90 points, but then ebbed lower before recovering some ground at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, US markets had a steadier June, before the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) notched new record highs at the end of the month.
Here's which stocks proved most popular with investors in June:
Electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla (TSLA) appeared on the most-bought lists of Interactive Investor, Robinhood (HOOD) and AJ Bell (AJB.L).
Despite CEO Elon Musk leaving his role heading up Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at the end of May and refocusing his attention back on Tesla, the stock had another rocky month in June and is down more than 25% year-to-date.
Dan Lane, lead analyst at Robinhood UK, said: "The world finally got a look at Tesla's Model Y in June. Elon Musk praised its 'FULLY autonomous' capabilities on X, which might have added to investor appetite over the month.
"Tesla is still struggling in China though, with smartphone maker, Xiaomi, adding pressure by joining the EV race."
Defence stocks remained popular with investors last month, boosted towards the end of the month by NATO allies announcing that they had agreed to increase their defence spending to 5% of their countries' gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.
FTSE 100-listed (^FTSE) Rolls-Royce (RR.L) was one of the most popular stocks for investors using Interactive Investor and AJ Bell's platforms. In fact, the stock closed the month on a new fresh high and is up more than 64% year-to-date.
Fellow UK defence stock BAE System (BA.L), which is up nearly 60% so far this year, also appeared on Interactive Investor and AJ Bell's lists.
Read more: The key investing trends in June, from defence stocks to Tesla's sales slump
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "Engine maker Rolls Royce topped the leaderboard of most bought equities in June on the interactive investor platform, unsurprisingly given its stellar stock market performance."
"Longer-term Rolls Royce is the best performing stock on the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) over a two-, three- and five-year time period," she said.
"Both Rolls Royce and BAE Systems ... have benefitted from increased UK defence spending this year as prime minister Kier Starmer plans to move the UK to 'warfighting readiness'," Scholar added. "BAE has also been a standout stock market winner with shares up by more than 60% over the past six months."
The second most popular stock on Robinhood's list was Applied Digital (APLD), which designs and operates digital infrastructure.
Shares in Applied Digital are up 38% year-to-date and hit an all-time high earlier in June, after the company announced a $7bn deal with CoreWeave (CRWV), the cloud services provider backed by Nvidia (NVDA).
Applied Digital said that it had entered into two approximately 15-year lease agreements with CoreWeave. Under the agreement, Applied Digital will deliver 250 megawatts of critical IT load to host CoreWeave's AI and high-performing computing (HPC) infrastructure at its Ellendale, North Dakota data centre campus. Applied Digital said it anticipating generating approximately $7bn (£5.1bn) in total revenue from the leases.
Mining stocks also proved popular in June, including minerals exploration and development company Metals One (MET1.L).
Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: "Metals One was popular with investors looking to 'buy the dip'.
"The mining company enjoyed a big share price rally in April and May after striking deals to expand in the US via uranium and gold exploration projects. The shares then pulled back sharply, perhaps prompting certain investors to swoop on price weakness in the hope it might rebound again."
Shares are up 368% year-to-date, with the rally in shares in May seeing the stock hitting its highest point since listing on the UK's alternative investment market (AIM) in August 2023.
Oil major BP (BP.L) also featured on the most popular stocks lists in June for Interactive Investor and AJ Bell (AJB.L).
Interactive Investor's Scholar said: "Not only has the company seen its share price caught up in the oil market's volatility amid tensions in the Middle East, but it has also been subject to takeover speculation from Shell. However, Shell has denied any acquisition interest in its rival."
A volatile first half of the year, has left BP shares 3% in the red year-to-date.
Investors' favourite stocks throughout the first six months of the year reflected continued market interest in key themes, such as technology and defence.
While chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) had a challenging start to the year with the release of DeepSeek's lower cost AI model, followed by Trump's sweeping tariffs and controls on sales of its H20 chips to China.
However, the stock has since seen a marked turnaround, with Nvidia posting strong first quarter results in May, showing the company continued to perform despite the export curbs on its chips to China.
Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio
Ahead of those results, Nvidia also announced deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to supply them with hundreds of thousands of its AI chips.
AJ Bell's Coatsworth said: "Nvidia might have been caught up in the global market sell-off in April, but plenty of investors still have faith in the AI story. Their patience has been rewarded after the shares hit a new record high during June."
UK financial stocks also proved popular, with Legal & General (LGEN.L), Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) and HSBC (HSBA.L), featuring on the lists.
Despite volatility, investors continued to put money into US and global passive funds in June, giving them exposure to some of the world's biggest companies, such as the "Magnificent 7" tech behemoths.
At the same time, Victoria Hasler, head of fund research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The turbulence that we saw in the second quarter of the year has tempted some investors back into active funds, trusting active managers to navigate the volatility on their behalf.
"There were three active funds in the top ten list for June — all three are global equity funds, and all three well-established funds with proven track records. In this environment it seems that investors prefer to stick with the funds they know and trust."
Exposure to US and global markets, particularly through passive funds, was a dominant theme in throughout the first half of the year.
Jason Hollands, managing director at Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners, said: Given the relatively poor performance of US equities in the first half of the year, with the fallout from Donald Trump's tariff war and a plunging US dollar, it is notable that despite this four of the top ten fund purchases on Bestinvest were US equities funds.
"There were no European funds present in the top ten, despite a much stronger start to the year," he said. "It is pleasingly to see a solitary UK equity fund in the top 10, Artemis UK Select (0P0000V25A.L), which is one of our top fund picks. It's a best ideas fund that backs undervalued growth companies."
Read more:
What to watch this week: UK shop prices, US employment, Constellation Brands, M&S and Sainsbury's
Global economy to slow amid 'most severe trade war since 1930s', says Fitch
UK economy grew 0.7% in first quarter of the year
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Dennis Woodside, who was then the CEO of Motorola Mobility, said in an interview at the time that the customized phones were being sold at a profit. In addition to the customized models, Motorola sold standardized versions of the Moto X to wireless carriers – an arrangement that helped ensure a base level of demand and production at the factory. While Apple does not produce customized versions of its iPhone, the company would likely face many of the same complications, plus new ones, if it quickly shifted iPhone manufacturing to the U.S. as Trump has called for. Higher labor costs are still a reality. And domestic suppliers are limited, with most based in China. As a result, Apple would have to raise iPhone prices astronomically—at least initially—to make a profit, experts said. 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But Apple hasn't mentioned anything about bringing iPhone manufacturing back home to the U.S. When it came to the Moto X, Flextronics, from the outset, anticipated a shortage of skilled engineers in the U.S. To get around the problem, it drafted engineering talent from its factories across the globe, including from Hungary, Israel, Malaysia, Brazil, and China, and splurged on moving them to Fort Worth just to get the operation running as quickly as possible. 'We had to bring in a very cultural cast of characters,' said Mark Randall, who led Motorola's supply chain and operations. Rank and file assembly line workers, along with supervisors and managers, were easier to recruit locally because of the area's status as a telecom manufacturing corridor, he added. Of the nearly 3,800 staffing the facility at its peak, most didn't require intensive training. Production at the plant, equivalent in size to nearly eight football fields, started in the summer of 2013. The operation was in a former Nokia phone factory, in an industrial park designated as a foreign trade zone and with its own airport for cargo. The location meant that Motorola would pay lower tariffs on certain components it imported from Asia. The savings would only kick in, however, if the company decided to export some of the phones it produced there to other countries. Randall, who is now a supply chain consultant and startup board member, described Texas as a friendly home for manufacturing. In just one example of the warm welcome, the state gave Motorola a tax break for worker training, he said. Setting up the Moto X plant required installing a massive amount of equipment, including conveyor belts and other machinery. Some, like certain testing machines, were shipped from China. Workers wearing smocks and gloves to protect the electronics from dirt and lint stood at blue tables set in neat rows while they went through the many steps required to finish a phone. Computer screens glowed above each station. Fitting plastic parts, like the phone's back cover, tended to be done by hand. Robotics was used for adding components like touch screens and for testing certain parts during assembly to make sure they worked properly. As production ramped up, process engineers, who sometimes patrolled the assembly line with stopwatches, looked for bottlenecks and rejiggered the assembly line. Like with any plant, the effort to squeeze out more efficiency was a constant focus. As the first Motorola phone designed under Google, Moto X generated considerable buzz. The Android device, which was priced at $579 for the unlocked entry version, had a rounded backside and pioneering voice control feature. Users merely had to say 'Okay, Google now' to activate the feature, to set up reminders and get driving directions 'It was a cool sexy phone,' said Mills, the CIO. 'I got it for my kids.' The mobile network carriers were also excited by the Moto X, though at least partly for self-serving reasons, according to Randall, the supply chain guru. If the device sold well, it would provide the carriers more leverage over Apple in negotiating the wholesale prices they paid for future iPhones. But ultimately, critics gave the Moto X mixed reviews. While they praised the ability to customize the device and its overall design, they dinged it for having underwhelming storage in the basic model (16GB) and inferior screen quality compared to the competition. As the Fort Worth plant revved up, workers quickly started pumping out up to 100,000 phones weekly. Initially, the plant's staff was overwhelmed, forcing Motorola to briefly backtrack on its promise to deliver phones to customers within four days. But over time, the volume dipped considerably. In the first quarter of 2014, Motorola sold 900,000 Moto X handsets worldwide compared to Apple selling 26 million of its new iPhone 5s during the same period, according to Strategy Analytics. Five months after Moto X debuted, Motorola slashed its price to $399. After nine months, the factory was down to 700 workers, or less than one-fifth of what it had earlier. Within the first few weeks, Randall said it was clear to leadership that the Moto X was underperforming. The team had to ramp down production. While not a complete failure in terms of sales, the phone wasn't a huge success either. Employees said they expected future models to do better, after improving the phone's design. Many blamed a limited marketing budget compared to the big money that Samsung and Apple spent on print ads and TV commercials. Because Moto X was a brand new model, they argued it needed a splashier ad campaign to get the word out or a more convincing message. One of the company's big assumptions about the phone had turned out to be wrong. After betting big on U.S. assembly, and waving the red, white, and blue in its marketing, the company realized that most consumers didn't care where the phone was made. 'One of the learnings was that assembled in America wasn't resonating,' said Mark Rose, a senior director of product management with Motorola at the time who now coaches product managers as a consultant. Apple wouldn't necessarily face the same challenges as Motorola, if it opened a U.S. smartphone plant. Their vast difference in size could make a big difference. Because of sluggish demand, Motorola struggled to achieve the cost savings from making Moto X in huge numbers. Apple, on the other hand, with annual U.S. iPhone sales in the tens of millions, could more easily cash in on the economies of scale. For Motorola, the challenge it faced was compounded by its decision to let shoppers customize their phones when ordering them online. Fully assembling those devices ahead of time, which would have helped make the plant run more smoothly, was impossible. It also led to higher return rates, an expensive problem for any company, because customers were more likely to be disappointed with the color scheme they chose. Apple, with its standardized lineup, doesn't have the same worries. Thanks to its successful track record, Apple also has significant control and leverage over its suppliers to negotiate lower prices for its iPhone components. Motorola, with its back-in-the-pack position and the uncertainty about whether its new Moto X phone would be a hit, had little sway in comparison. Meanwhile, Motorola, along with most other Android phone makers, operate in an environment of intense competition that translates into low profit margins. Any extra costs, such as is the case with U.S. manufacturing from higher wages, can be financially painful. Apple's iPhone, however, is a premium product that sells at a high margin. As a result, the company could more easily absorb the additional expense of producing it in the U.S. Ultimately, Google's changing priorities played a major role in its decision in January 2014 to sell Motorola to China-based Lenovo for $2.9 billion. A few months later, with the sale of the phone maker still pending, Google announced it would shut down its Moto X assembly line in Fort Worth and shift production entirely to China and Brazil, where production costs were lower. Instead of trying to compete with Apple, Motorola, under Lenovo, would focus on making cheaper phones aimed at customers in developing countries. 'What we found was that the North American market was exceptionally tough,' Motorola president Rick Osterloh told the Wall Street Journal after announcing that the Fort Worth plant would close. Selling would eliminate another problem for Google: Griping by phone makers that used Android software in their devices. They complained that Google, after buying Motorola, competed directly against them. Google had to take the rebellion seriously. If those partners bailed on Android, it would be a huge blow to Google because it would make it more difficult for handset users to access its services. Another factor in the sale was Google's rationale for acquiring Motorola in the first place. In addition to buying a phone business, Google had gotten Motorola's huge patent portfolio that it hoped would help it fend off a growing number of lawsuits over Android. Apple, Microsoft, and other competitors had targeted Google and its phone making partners with claims that the operating system infringed on their intellectual property. In selling Motorola to Lenovo, Google kept most of the patents, tacitly acknowledging that they were more valuable to it than a handset business with disappointing sales. In the end, Motorola's failed U.S. adventure had little to do with where the Moto X was assembled, by all accounts. The phone simply didn't sell well enough to justify a U.S. assembly line. 'If it had sold better off the jump, the whole story would have been different,' said Gabe Madway, who worked in Motorola's public relations at the time and is now at online investment management service Wealthsimple. Randall, meanwhile, put it even more bluntly, saying the phone's failure 'had very much zero' to do with U.S. manufacturing and everything to do with the iPhone being a better device with bigger brand recognition than the Moto X. Of course, a lot has changed in 12 years that could make or break a new U.S. manufacturing push by a company like Apple. Factory automation, for example, has greatly improved, opening the door to more cost savings in any U.S. smartphone factory now compared to before. But some things haven't changed. Adding thousands of workers on short notice to speed up production of a device getting more sales than anticipated would be next to impossible to do in the U.S. In China, it's routine. 'If there was a ramp that went super well, the ability to flex that workforce is insane' Randall said about China. 'The ability to scale down that work workforce is insane.' Also, there are relatively few U.S.-based suppliers that could produce enough electronic components for millions of phones. And expanding the pool would likely take years. Meanwhile, importing parts, the obvious alternative, may be prohibitively expensive if Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs, proposed in April, fully kick in. It doesn't help that the president frequently changes his mind about the levies, making it difficult for companies to plan ahead for big investments like phone assembly plants. Mills, the former Motorola CIO, said Trump giving phone makers like Apple some wiggle room would make it easier for them to set up U.S. manufacturing. Instead of producing their phones entirely in the U.S, they could avoid tariffs by doing merely final assembly domestically, like Motorola tried. 'A big thing comes down to what Trump means by Made in America,' said Mills. Another idea is for Apple to set up a small operation domestically to produce a 'prestige or limited edition' iPhone, said Ross Rubin, an analyst with Reticle Research. It could charge a premium for the device, say $2,000, he said, and let Trump declare victory, letting Apple avoid the much more expensive alternative to onshoring a huge chunk of its iPhone production. What is clear is this: Motorola's Made in America experiment lasted just over a year, and in more than a decade since, no other major smartphone maker has dared to try something similar again. This story was originally featured on
