The Nasdaq Composite is currently laboring around 3,950 area, good enough for a year-to-date gain of almost 31%.
That is still a far cry from the intra-day high of 5,132.52, and all-time closing high of 5,048.62 seen in March 2000, but it cannot be forgotten that the Nasdaq Composite surged more than 27% in the fourth quarter of 1999.
Indeed, anything is possible and even a flirtation with the 5,000 area by the Nasdaq Composite would be a boon for the PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGS: QQQ). QQQ, the NASDAQ-100 tracking ETF, is having a banner year, up nearly 24%. With over $1.8 billion worth of inflows, QQQ is the second-best PowerShares ETF in terms of asset-gathering proficiency this year. [Access the Nasdaq 100 With This ETF]
QQQ’s all-time high, $117.56 touched on March 20, 2000, is nearly 42% above where the ETF currently trades. Split the difference and say the Nasdaq Composite can “only” get to 4,500 and there is still tremendous upside potential left for QQQ.
However, ETFs that offer different spins on the Nasdaq have recently been making a series of all-time highs.
Perhaps the most unheralded member of that group is the Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (NYSEArca: QQQE). Equal-weight ETFs have risen to prominence in recent years and that has carried over to tech-centric funds. Said differently, Apple’s (NasdaqGM: AAPL) fall from around $700 to below $400 underscored the risks of ETFs with excessive weights to shares of the iPad maker.[Dodge Apple With These Tech ETFs]