Bio, Semi HOLDRs Lead
The Biotech and Semiconductor HOLDRs
led the upside of Wednesday’s market, but otherwise tech-focused exchange-traded
funds weakened along with financials after the Fed left rates unchanged.
The Biotech HOLDR
(
BBH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) added
5.0%, the day’s sharpest gain among the exchange-traded
funds.
The basket of biotechnology stocks got
a lift from Affymetrix
(
AFFX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating). The stock dived
earlier this week after a federal jury ruled Friday that the company had
infringed a patent of Oxford Gene Technology. Affymetrix shares recouped part of
the loss after analysts said the company faced only minor liability as a result
of the ruling.
All charts in this commentary use a
logarithmic scale. Daily charts display 50-day moving averages of price (in red)
and of volume (in blue). Some daily charts may also display a 200-day moving
average (in black).
The Semiconductor HOLDR
(
SMH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose
4.5%Â
Â
The basket of chip stocks got a lift
from overnight news at Analog Devices
(
ADI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating). The chip-gear maker posted
quarterly earnings of 54 cents a share vs. 20 cents a share a year ago and First
Call’s consensus estimate of 50 cents per share. Analog Devices surged 14.0%.
Among the HOLDR’s other components, National Semiconductor
(
NSM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) tacked on
10.0%, Vitesse Semiconductor
(
VTSS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 7.0%, Broadcom
(
BRCM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 6.8%.
For more chart analysis on
semiconductor stocks, see my Trading
The News commentary on TriQuint Semiconductor
(
TQNT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating).
Among the day’s other gainers, the Dow
Jones Basic Materials iShares
(
IYM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose 2.3%, the Dow Jones Energy iShares
(
IYE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 2.2%, the Dow Jones Chemical iShares
(
IYD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 2.2%, the Nasdaq 100
Tracking Stock
(
QQQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 2.0%.
On the downside,
financial stocks slid after the Fed’s decision to leave official short-term
interest rates unchanged. The Banking HOLDR
(
RKH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) lost 3.4%, the Dow Jones
Financial Services iShares
(
IYG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 1.9%, the Dow Jones Financial iShares
(
IYF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
1.3%.
Exchange-traded funds combine traits
of stocks and mutual funds. Like mutual funds, an ETF represents diversified
ownership in a number of different stocks, greatly reducing company-specific
risk. Like stocks, ETFs trade on exchanges, nearly all of them, in fact, trade on
the American Stock Exchange at present. They quote throughout the day, enabling
traders to take advantage of intraday price moves.Â
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