With the latest round of tariffs on Chinese companies going into effect, ETF investors should keep an eye on the technology sector if relations between China and the U.S. continue to deteriorate.
“You can get too comfortable with the fact that tariffs haven’t done much to slow down the U.S.,” Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial, told CNBC. “Should the back and forth with China take a nasty turn, that could catch people off guard potentially.”
Tariffs raise the cost for companies, which would mean higher costs for consumers on a number of goods. additionally, the depressed economic growth could translate to pressure on investments.
Investors may hedge potential downside risks in technology sector through inverse or bearish ETF plays. For instance, the ProShares UltraShort Technology (NYSEArca: REW) takes the -2x or -200% daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Technology index and the Direxion Daily Technology Bear 3X Shares (NYSEArca: TECS) reflects the -3x or -300% daily performance of the S&P Technology Select Sector Index.
The technology sector is one area that could be particularly susceptible to weakness if trade barriers escalate since a number of products are built or manufactured in China, Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James, said.
Tech Sectors With Possible Concerns
Specifically, Mills pointed to areas that could be particularly exposed to the trade concerns, including semiconductors, 5G communications, cell phones, artificial intelligence, robotics and biopharmaceuticals. Apple was among the top of the list, and the company has already warned of the potential negative impacts the tariffs could have on its business in a letter to the Office of U.S. Trade Representative earlier this month.
“If you believe in technology, you should still believe in it,” Marguerita Cheng, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, told CNBC. “Just understand that it is going to be more volatile.”
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The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLK), which includes a hefty 20.1% tilt toward Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL), has increased 18.6% year-to-date and remains one of the stronger sectors of the U.S. markets.
“If you have a sector ETF that you think could be significantly impacted by tariffs, it would be a really good time to evaluate that and potentially take your profits and move on,” Diahann W. Lassus, president of Lassus Wherley, told CNBC.
For more information on the market sectors, visit our sector ETFs category.