By now, most investors that actively follow momentum stocks know the tale of woe regarding once high-flying Chinese Internet names.
Things were going according to plan until early March when the air was let out of the momentum balloon. Heading into Wednesday’s trading session, the Guggenheim China Technology ETF (NYSEArca: CQQQ), Powershares Golden Dragon Halter USX China Portfolio (NYSEArca: PGJ) and the KraneShares CSI China Internet Fund (NasdaqGM: KWEB) had lost an average of 18.5% since March 6. [Internet, Social Media ETFs Tank]
Momentum ETFs, including the aforementioned, got plenty of attention on the way down, but some Chinese Internet fare has been quietly perking up since the start of May. With Wednesday’s gains, PGJ and KWEB are higher by 1.6% and 2.7%, respectively, since May 1.
Some of the rebound may attributable to anticipation of the Alibaba initial public offering, but there is only so much a company that is not public yet can do for any ETF. [ETFs for the Alibaba IPO]
Going back to May 1, several of the marquee names found in ETFs such as KWEB and PGJ have been lagging the ETFs and are still in the red. However, some of those same stocks have been on a tear since May 8th.
For example, shares of Baidu (NasdaqGS: BIDU), China’s largest Internet search provider, are up nearly 9% since May 8th. Qihoo 360 Technology (NasdsaqGS: QIHU) is up 11.5% over that time while YY (NasdaqGS: YY) is higher 7.6%.