May 23, 2008 at 10:00 am by Tom Lydon
Software stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) were socked at the beginning of 200, but so far they’ve seemed to recover most of those losses.
It is too soon to tell if the market is recovering, but the tech sector, with the help of software stocks, is trying to pull higher, reports Don Dion for Seeking Alpha.
iShares S&P North American Software (IGV) lost 18% between its all-time high on Halloween 2007 and its 52-week low on March 17. Since then, though, it’s come back 14.2%. Year-to-date, it’s down 3.9%.
Top holdings such as Adobe (ADBE; 8%), Symantec (SYMC; 7.2%), are not feeling a weak economy particularly because businesses need to shell out money for the latest upgrades to remain competitive whether or not the economy is good.
Also in their favor: software is becoming an international business. Companies still stand to benefit from overseas economic growth as well as a declining dollar in relation to foreign currency.
Other software related ETFs:
- Software HOLDRs (SWH): Down 4.6% year-to-date; 12.5% in Adobe; 3.6% in Symantec
- Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK): Down 8.3% year-to-date; 19.8% in software
- PowerShares Dynamic Software Portfolio (PSJ): Down 8.8% year-to-date; 4.8% Adobe
Tags | Technology
