Stock exchange traded funds fell for a fifth consecutive day on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged a slowdown in the economic recovery but didn’t hint at additional stimulus, while Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO) Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) weighed on technology ETFs. A late-day sell-off pushed most stock indicators into the red for the session.
A Nasdaq-100 ETF continued its recent string of losses Tuesday as weakness in shares of Cisco (NasdaqGS: CSCO) and Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) kept a lid on the ETF’s advance. PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) ended flat on Tuesday although Cisco slipped about 3% and Apple was down approx. 1.5%. Apple is the ETF’s top holding at 12.4% of the allocation while Cisco accounts for 3.5%. [Cisco, Apple Cap Nasdaq-100 ETF Gains]
Stock ETF added to their four-day losing streak Tuesday but the rest of the week will determine whether we get a relief temporary bounce. ETFs indexed to the closely followed S&P 500 fell below several key support levels on Monday, technical analysts said. The S&P 500 on Monday closed just below its 150-day moving average of 1288 and couldn’t hold a key Fibonacci level, he said. “Short term bias continues to the downside as we were unable to hold key technical levels. Near term, technicals weakened as we fell through some key benchmarks,” Chojnacki wrote in a strategy note Tuesday. “The S&P 500 is poised to test the March low of 1256 (close) in the short term.” [S&P 500 ETF Tries to Repair Technical Damage]
Temple-Inland (NYSE: TIN) rallied 40% following a takeover bid while Talbots (NYSE: TLB) plunged by a similar percentage after disappointing quarterly earnings. Exchange traded funds that invest in timber and forestry stocks rose Tuesday in the wake of International Paper’s (NYSE: IP) unsolicited bid for Temple-Inland. A retail sector ETF rose Tuesday despite the sell-off in shares of holdings Talbots and Pep Boys (NYSE: PBY) [Stock ETFs Rise with Talbots, Temple-Inland in Focus]
Bank ETFs closed flat on Tuesday thanks in part to strength in components Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Huntington Bancshares (NasdaqGS: HBAN). SPDR KBW Bank ETF (NYSEArca: KBE) ended basically at breakeven, while Huntington climbed approx 2.5%, but B. of A. dropped about 1.7%. The bank ETF has 6.3% in B. of A. and 4.8% in Huntington. The fund has declined 10% so far this year with concerns over a slowing economy and new regulations pushing bank stocks lower. [Huntington, Bank of America Lift Bank ETFs]
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY)
Gregory A. Clay contributed to this article.
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