Exchange traded funds (ETFs) tracking Nasdaq stocks held up better than the major U.S. stock indicators Thursday as Novellus Systems (NasdaqGS: NVLS) and JDS Uniphase (NasdaqGS: JDSU) stanched the bleeding.
Stocks fell on Thursday after weekly jobless claims saw an unexpected rise and neared the key 500,000 level.
Yet JDS Uniphase shares rallied 10% Thursday in the wake of the company’s quarterly results. JDS Uniphase after Wednesday’s closing bell said it swung to a quarterly profit that beat analyst expectations. [JDS Uniphase to Boost Networking ETFs.]
Novellus was also a strong performer on the Nasdaq, rising 6% on lingering takeover speculation. The company on Thursday priced an offering of $600 million of senior convertible notes.
PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM) and Fidelity Nasdaq Composite ETF (NasdaqGM: ONEQ) were fractionally lower but were holding up better than ETFs tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500.
Fidelity Nasdaq Composite ETF
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