Stock exchange traded funds fell Thursday with Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO) down nearly 5% as as oil, metals and other commodities continued to slide.
PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ), an ETF comprised of top Nasdaq-listed stocks, was down following a disappointing outlook from bellwether Cisco. The company after Wednesday’s closing bell reported quarterly results and said it expects its current quarter will continue to show weakness. The stock is down over 5% in early trading. [Nasdaq ETF Set for Lower Open After Weak Cisco Outlook]
Weakness in Citigroup (NYSE: C) and bank ETFs isn’t a good sign for a market that could be faltering. [Bank ETFs Fall]
Traders are keeping a close eye on the bounce in the dollar since many assets including commodities and stocks have shown an inverse correlation with the greenback in recent years When the dollar weakens, it’s usually a good sign for equities and commodities such as oil and precious metals. The question is whether this week’s dollar rally is the start of a trend change or simply a brief respite from the move lower. PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSEArca: UUP) has risen about 3% over the past week and was up fractionally in Thursday’s premarket. The ETF follows the movement of the dollar against a basket of currencies. [Dollar, Euro at ETFs at Critical Juncture]
Oil prices were back under pressure Thursday and an ETF tracking crude futures was down 3% before the bell. U.S. Oil Fund (NYSEArca: USO) has slipped about 9% over the past week. Crude futures were set for further losses Thursday with oil trading below $97 a barrel after recently spiking to nearly $115. [Is Oil ETF Pullback a Buying Opportunity]
Software ETFs that have been solid performers could get a further boost from Symantec (NasdaqGS: SYMC), which reported quarter results late Wednesday. Symantec represents nearly 6% of iShares S&P North American Technology-Software (NYSEArca: IGV). The software ETF is up 35% over the past year. Symantec’s quarterly results beat expectations across the board with strong performance in all segments, said Deutsche Bank analysts in a note. [Soft ETFs in Focus on Symantec Results]
Silver ETFs were set to absorb further losses Thursday as the dollar continued to strengthen. The largest ETF for silver was down 7% in premarket. Yet after the recent massive sell-off in physical silver, some believe that silver ETFs are now relatively cheap investments, especially considering that the fundamentals for silver are still in play. The iShares Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SLV) was down 10% over the past week heading into Thursday’s session. It lost more than 8% in Wednesday’s sell-off. [Silver ETF Drops 7% in Premarket]
Gregory A. Clay contributed to this article.