The big news in the world of momentum stocks and exchange traded funds is the ongoing retrenchment in the biotechnology sub-sector.
On Monday, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NasdaqGM: IBB), the largest biotech ETF, is off 2.8% on volume that is already nearly triple the daily average, bring its five-day loss to 7.1%. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEArca: XBI), an equal weight ETF with ample small-cap exposure, is off 4.4% on volume that is close to twice the daily average, enough to bring that ETF’s five-day drop to 7.3%.
Conversely, the oft-overlooked ProShares UltraShort NASDAQ Biotechnology (NasdaqGM: BIS), the double-leveraged inverse answer to IBB, is higher by 6.5% and should easily see turnover that exceeds 10 time the daily average. [Inverse Biotech ETF Suddenly Popular]
Biotech ETFs are not the only momentum funds that have suddenly fallen out of favor with Mr. Market. Take the Global X Social Media Index ETF (NasdaqGM: SOCL) as an example. Down 3.4%, SOCL is now lower by 6.1% over the past week. Assuming Monday’s 3%-ish loss holds, SOCL will be saddled with a one-month loss of 10%.
In a sign of just how bad things are for SOCL Monday, the best performer among the ETF’s top-10 holdings is Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG), which is lower by nearly 3%. Volume in SOCL is already 50% above the daily average. [Tough Day for Social Media ETF]