PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) encountered resistance at its 50-day simple moving average on Wednesday morning before seeing the day’s gains vanish. Top holding Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) weighed as the stock lost more than 1% in afternoon trading.
The Nasdaq-100 exchange traded fund was testing the technical indicator on Wednesday following its sharp drop earlier this month. The ETF’s 50-day moving average recently crossed below the 200-day.
Some financial advisors use these yardsticks to gauge how much of client portfolios should be invested in stocks.
Apple accounts for 14.6% of the Nasdaq ETF. The fund is up 1.3% year to date, compared with a 2.3% decline for the S&P 500, according to Morningstar, as the tech sector has outperformed.
Technically, Apple shares have survived two tests of their 50-day moving average this month as investors haven’t lost confidence in the high-flying stock following the resignation of CEO Steve Jobs, who will stay on as chairman.
“We believe the groundwork of Steve Jobs’ vision has been set in place for the near-to-mid term,” said analysts at Hilliard Lyons Equity Research in a note. “New product launches for the iPhone this fall and continued growth of iPad and MacBook sales are expected to benefit the company for the next several years.”