Stock exchange traded funds pulled back Wednesday while commodities dropped sharply and Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO) slipped after-hours as it predicted more weakness in its current quarter and announced job cuts.
PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ), a large ETF tracking Nasdaq tech stocks, was down fractionally in after-hours trade Wednesday following Cisco’s quarterly earnings. Chief Executive John Chambers on the conference call said the company expects the fourth quarter “will continue to show weakness.” [Nasdaq ETF Slips on Cisco]
ETFs tracking the U.S. banking sector were down about 1% on Wednesday on reports Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) and other mortgage services have proposed paying $5 billion to settle an investigation related to foreclosures. Some analysts predict Bank of America may pay as much as $3.7 billion to settle a probe of its mortgage practices, Bloomberg reported. [Bank ETFs Lower on Reports of Mortgage Settlement Offer]
Basic materials ETFs were crushed Wednesday along with energy-sector ETFs as commodities sold off and key component Freeport-McMoRan (NSYE: FCX) dropped more than 5%. The iShares Dow Jones US Basic Materials (NYSEArca: IYM) was down 3% while silver and oil led the decliners in the commodities complex. The $1.2 billion ETF has about 9% in Freeport-McMoRan. [Freeport-McMoRan Leads Materials ETFs Deep Into Red]