The pessimistic outlook from industry bellwether Intel Corp (NasdaqGS: INTC) is dragging on the semiconductor space. However, an equal-weight exchange traded fund is bucking the trend.
The SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (NYSEArca: XSD), which more or less equally weights its 46 components, with a 1.9% tilt toward INTC, was up 0.2% Thursday. Meanwhile, the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NasdaqGM: SOXX), which follows the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index, with a 6.8% position in INTC, dipped 0.2%. INTC fell 3.7% mid-day.
Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, cut its first-quarter sales projections due to lower-than-expected demand for corporate computers and weakening economies, notably in Europe, reports Ian King for Bloomberg.
“People were expecting things to be weak, and there was a question of how much,” Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said in the article. “They tipped over the edge.”
More consumers have shifted into personal tablets and smartphones for accessing web content. However, the decline in PC sales were expected to pick up as businesses upgraded old computers with Windows XP software.
Additionally, the chipmaker cited challenging macroeconomic and currency conditions. The strengthening U.S. dollar has made it more expensive for foreign importers. PC makers have increased prices across Europe in response to the rapid depreciation in the euro against the dollar.
“When you see such a dramatic move so quickly, it’s hard to be insulated,” Bradley Gastwirth, an analyst with ABR Investment Strategy, said in a Wall Street Journal article.
Consequently, market-capitalization-weighted ETFs such as SOXX, which have a large-cap multi-national company tilt, could continue to struggle in a strong USD environment. On the other hand, XSD leans toward smaller companies, including a 37.0% position in mid-caps and 45.1% weight in small-caps due to its equal-weight indexing methodology.
SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF
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Max Chen contributed to this article.