The PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ), the Nasdaq-100 (NDQ) tracking exchange traded fund, slumped more than 6% last week while the Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLK) has been riddled with outflows this year, which is to say some traders are not fans of technology stocks to this point in 2016.
However, XLK and rival technology ETFs have not been immune to the market slide that has afflicted investors in early 2016. The FANG stocks — Facebook (NasdaqGS: FB), Amazon (NasdaqGS: AMZN), Netflix (NasdaqGS: NFLX) and Google or Alphabet (NasdaqGS: GOOG) – among others, drove technology ETFs higher last year, but that left investors wondering if the same feat will be repeated in 2016.
Along with Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL), the FANG stocks are also major components of QQQ. QQQ, one of the world’s largest ETFs, has also been dragged lower by slumping biotech stocks. Healthcare is the ETF’s third-largest sector weight.
“QQQ had red candles in December and January, and so far this month. This followed a monthly doji in November. Similarly, AMZN, which more than doubled last year, had a monthly doji in December, followed by a down January and a down February. Now a laggard, AAPL struggled in the $130 area from February to July last year, before giving way in August. No doubt tech is weighing on the broader stock market,” according to See It Market.
Commitment of traders data posted by See It Market indicate the number of net longs in NASDAQ-100 futures has been dwindling for weeks.
Tech ETFs face another problem: Weakness in semiconductor stocks. Eddy Elfenbein of the Crossing Wall Street blog said chip stocks are facing pressure from faltering PC sales, a strong U.S. dollar and weak economies in Asia. Despite better-than-expected earnings reports from chipmakers such as NXP and Qorvo, Elfenbein said the outlook remains grim until those central conditions improve,” according to CNBC.
The semiconductor industry, though, faces some headwinds. Research firm Gartner anticipates that worldwide shipments of personal computers, tablets and smartphones rose only modestly last year, which could cause chip sales to decline.
PowerShares QQQ
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of QQQ.