Stock exchange traded funds were set to end the week on a high note Friday heading into Memorial Day weekend as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) lifted financial sector ETFs. B. of A. shares added 2%.
Financial ETFs followed Bank of America shares higher Friday as one Wall Street analyst slightly raised his 2011 profit estimate for the banking giant. Bank of America and Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLF) were both up fractionally. B. of A. accounts for 6.3% of the sector ETF and is among its largest holdings. [Bank of America, Financial ETFs Trade Higher]
A closely watched Nasdaq ETF has been pulled higher late this week by Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT), which rose Friday after rallying the previous session. Microsoft shares jumped Thursday after hedge-fund manager David Einhorn said he likes the stock but that Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is the biggest weight on the company. PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) and Microsoft both traded fractionally higher Friday. Microsoft is the Nasdaq ETF’s second-largest holding at 8% of the portfolio. [Microsoft, Nasdaq ETF Gain Ground]
A silver ETF continued its recovery Friday after the big sell-off. [Silver ETF Countinues Bounce from $32 a Share]
Euro ETFs were rising Friday and may be getting support from Asian investors who are reportedly moving into the currency. Pimco’s Bill Gross told CNBC on Friday that there are signs that China is supporting troubled European bond markets. CurrencyShares Euro Trust (NYSEArca: FXE) and WisdomTree Dreyfus Euro Fund (NYSEArca: EU) are ETFs that track the movement of the euro versus the dollar. They’re down this month but have stabilized lately. [Asian Investors Bolsters Euro]
Semiconductor ETFs got a boost from Marvell Technology (NasdaqGS: MRVL) after the company reported first-quarter results. The stock was up 9% on Friday. Citadel Securities said Marvell reported quarterly sales of $802 million, down 11% quarter over quarter, and short of its estimate. Marvell comprises 3.4% of the $214 million iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor (NasdaqGM: SOXX). The sector ETF gained about 1% on Thursday amid Freescale Semiconductor’s (NYSE: FSL) initial public offering. [Marvell Technology Sets Pace for Semiconductor ETFs]
Gregory A. Clay contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Mr. Lydon serves as an independent trustee of certain mutual funds and ETFs that are managed by Guggenheim Investments; however, any opinions or forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Mr. Lydon and not those of Guggenheim Funds, Guggenheim Investments, Guggenheim Specialized Products, LLC or any of their affiliates. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.