Semiconductor exchange traded funds bounced Friday after Applied Materials (NasdaqGS: AMAT) revealed a strong first quarter result that beat estimates on rising smartphone demand.
On Friday, the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSEArca: SMH) gained 3.1%, iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NasdaqGM: SOXX), rose 3.1% and SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (NYSEArca: XSD) was up 2.6%. Both SMH and SOXX broke above the their short-term resistance at the 50-day simple moving average.
Meanwhile, the Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bull 3x Shares (NYSEArca: SOXL), which takes the leveraged 300% daily exposure of the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index, surged 8.8% and ProShares Ultra Semiconductors (NYSEArca: USD), which follows the 200% daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Semiconductors Index, surged 6.6% on Friday.
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The semiconductor sub-sector rallied Friday after Applied Materials, the world’s largest supplier of tools used to make semiconductor chips, said it earned $0.34 per share on revenue of $2.45 billion, beating The Street by $0.02 per share and expectations of $2.43 billion in revenue, the Wall Street Pit reports.
AMAT shares gained 11.7% Friday.
The strong results also prompted B. Riley & Co to upgrade AMAT shares to “Buy” from “Neutral.”
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