PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) was set for a slightly lower open Thursday following the previous session’s wipeout as top holding Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) lost nearly 3% following a brief foray above $400 a share.
Apple shares have been on a tear and recent blowout earnings further stoked bullish sentiment on the seller of iPhones and iPads. The stock is up nearly 20% over the past month.
Apple accounts for 13.9% of PowerShares QQQ, which tracks the Nasdaq-100. The exchange traded fund slipped 2.6% in Wednesday’s broad market sell-off, and was fractionally lower in Thursday’s premarket.
Apple is a profit machine and had the largest cash reserves of any U.S. company in 2010, according to a report. USA Today reports that the tech sector has more cash on hand than any other. The tech industry boasts about $264 billion in cash reserves at the end of 2010. [Tech ETFs: Are Valuations Running Out of Hand?]
Moreover, according to Moody’s, Apple has about $59.7 billion in cash reserves and reported $76.2 billion in cash holdings, in the latest quarterly report.
“The cash is growing more rapidly overseas,” said Moody’s analyst Steve Oman, in the USA Today report. “Wouldn’t that be great if that money were invested in the U.S.?”
PowerShares QQQ
Apple
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.