Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT) shares rallied nearly 3% on Thursday after Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn said he was bullish on the stock but called for the ouster of Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.
Microsoft helped lift PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) back near its 50-day moving average. If the Nasdaq-100 exchange traded fund fails at this key technical level, it could be a discouraging sign for the overall market.
The next hurdle for the Nasdaq ETF would be the 38.2% retracement line from the dot-com bust. [Nasdaq ETF Moves on Microsoft, Technicals]
PowerShares QQQ was up 0.7% in afternoon trading Thursday. It had a year-to-date gain of 4.4% as of May 25, according to investment researcher Morningstar. Microsoft is the ETF’s second-largest holding at 8% of the portfolio.
PowerShares QQQ
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