The highly traded Nasdaq-100 PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ) has rallied more than 3% this week to outperform the S&P 500. The ETF was higher Friday for the thirteenth straight day.
QQQ hasn’t had a 12-day winning streak since 2009 as cyclical stocks are helping power the S&P 500’s recent rise to all-time highs, according to MarketWatch.
The Nasdaq-100 ETF is up about 16% year to date to slightly trail the S&P 500. The fund tracks the largest 100 nonfinancial stocks listed on the Nasdaq.
Traders use the ETF to jump in and out of the tech sector. QQQ is the seventh most actively traded ETF listed in the U.S., according to Morningstar.
“Because the tech sector dominates QQQ and accounts for fully 61% of its assets, large-cap tech firms’ performance determines its fortunes,” the investment researcher says in a profile of the ETF. “Tech stocks generally are pro-cyclical in their performance, and as the economy strengthens in the short and medium term, tech firms should do well.”