It’s been over one week since we have entered the second half of 2017. Markets have so far been edgy in the latter half of the year with the S&P 500-based ETF (SPY – Free Report) adding about 0.2%, Dow Jones-based fund (DIA – Free Report) gaining about 0.4% and Nasdaq-based ETF (QQQ – Free Report) going down by about 0.2% in the last five trading days (as of July 7, 2017). Small-cap fund iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM – Free Report) was even more lackluster with about 0.5% loss in the last five days (as of July 7, 2017) (read: Trump Slump to Oil Slide: Top ETF Stories of First-Half 2017).
Issues from Fed’s policy tightening worries to uncertainty related to Trump’s policies and bearish happenings in the oil patch seem to have taken a toll. Against this backdrop, let’s find out if top-performing ETF events of the first half can replicate their success in the second half too.
What Would Happen to Tech?
Tech was a sweet spot in the first half. Thanks to the improving technology sector, the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite Index inched past the huge milestone of 6,000 for the first time in late April.
However, the stupendous rally made the space guilty of overvaluation, causing a crash in June. The waning trend seems to prolong ahead as “the difference in the volatility measures for the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 has hit its widest level in over a decade” lately. Some strategies are issuing warnings related to the tech sell-off in the second half.
While most tech funds saw a soft start to the third quarter, there are some funds that were the least hit. Investors can keep track of tech funds like PureFunds Drone Economy Strategy ETF (IFLY – Free Report) and PureFunds ISE Mobile Payments ETF (IPAY – Free Report). The largest tech ETF Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK – Free Report) was up about 0.4% in the last five days (as of July 7, 2017) while IFLY and IPAY gained about 1.8% and 1.1%.
