Aggressive exchange traded fund traders are betting on a swift rebound in technology stocks after the recent rout sent the Nasdaq into a correction.
Among the post popular ETF plays over the past week, the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) attracted $2.7 billion in net inflows, the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL) brought in $1.5 billion, and the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) added close to $2.0 billion, according to ETF Database.
TQQQ takes on 3x or 300% of the daily performance of the Nasdaq-100. SOXL also takes the long 3x daily investment results or 300% of the ICE Semiconductor Index. Lastly, SMH tries to replicate the price and yield performance of the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index.
On the other hand, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which follows the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 benchmark, was still among the most-hated ETF plays over the past week, experiencing $5.4 billion in net redemptions.
The recent selling in tech stocks is mostly tied to inflation, which is at a 40-year high.
“It’s definitely a wild start to the year,” Josh Chastant, a senior investment analyst at GuideStone Capital Management, told the Wall Street Journal. “That’s to be expected when you go from a stimulative Fed to less accommodative.”
The Federal Reserve has indicated that it will start hiking interest rates this year, and analysts anticipate that it will happen multiple times, with the options market even pricing in five hikes for 2022. Consequently, less risky assets become more attractive, and growth stocks, like technology companies, that rely on future revenue are less attractive.
“Growth and many technology stocks have been hit especially hard because of the long duration of their earnings. A significant part of the value of technology stocks is their future earnings profile, and as investors lower their growth expectations and/or discount those future earnings at a higher rate, the present value for these stocks falls further and faster than the broader market,” said Dave Sekera, CFA, chief U.S. market strategist for Morningstar.
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