U.S. markets have somewhat recovered from the recent stumble, and technology and sector-related exchange traded funds are leading the charge as investors look back into the growth trade.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLK), which tracks technology companies in the S&P 500, returned 3.7% over the past week and was the best performing S&P 500 sector-related ETF. In contrast, the S&P 500 was up 2.1% over the past week.
Among the better performers within the tech segment over the past week, the SPDR S&P Internet ETF (NYSEArca: XWEB), which is comprised of internet names taken from the S&P Total Market Index, advanced 7.2% while semiconductor-related PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors Portfolio (NYSEArca: PSI) and First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF (NasdaqGS: FTSL) increased 7.2% and 6.4%, respectively.
Three technology giants – Amazon (NasdaqGS: AMZN), Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT) and Netflix (NasdaqGS: NFLX) – have fueled nearly half of the S&P 500’s advance this year, reports Akane Otani for the Wall Street Journal.
“When you see a Netflix or Amazon leading, it’s not necessarily a great sign of investor confidence, since you know those names can always deliver growth no matter what’s going on,” Jack Ablin, founding partner and chief investment officer at Cresset Wealth Advisors, told the WSJ.