The PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ), which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 Index, is up more than 25% year-to-date. That is one of the benefits for QQQ when technology is the best-performing sector in the U.S.
While stocks such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Google parent Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) are surging, some investors are becoming concerned about the technology sector’s valuations and are departing the corresponding ETFs as a result.
Options data suggest some traders have recently been preparing for a possible decline in the Nasdaq-100 with the ProShares UltraShort QQQ (NYSEARCA: QID). QID attempts to provide double the daily inverse returns of the Nasdaq-100 Index.
“This Short ProShares ETF seeks a return that is -2x the return of an index or other benchmark (target) for a single day, as measured from one NAV calculation to the next,” according to ProShares. “Due to the compounding of daily returns, ProShares’ returns over periods other than one day will likely differ in amount and possibly direction from the target return for the same period. These effects may be more pronounced in funds with larger or inverse multiples and in funds with volatile benchmarks.”
Related: Tech ETFs Could Soar Again in 2018