Exchange-traded funds tracking tech shares were among the biggest winners for the week as several big names delivered solid first-quarter numbers.
The Internet HOLDRs (HHH Quote) ETF gained 4.5% for the week, and the Internet Architecture HOLDRs (IAH Quote) surged 6.7%. The Semiconductor HOLDRs (SMH Quote) rose 2.9%, and the iShares S&P GSTI Semiconductor (IGW Quote) climbed 3.9%. The upward momentum came as search giant Google (GOOG Quote) helped spark a massive rally Friday and chipmaker Intel (INTC Quote) did the same a couple of days earlier, both thanks to better-than-expected earnings. Google jumped 17.9% for the week as Intel tacked on 6.2%. IBM (IBM Quote), meanwhile, helped the Dow hold its own on Thursday as the computer maker topped expectations with a leaping quarterly profit. For the week, the stock was up 7.2%. Also gaining ground this week were ETFs tracking financial stocks. The week saw mixed results, but some big names, most notably, Citigroup (C Quote) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote), allayed investors' fears with first-quarter results that weren't thoroughly dismal. Citi missed the average Wall Street estimate but its first-quarter writedowns weren't nearly as bad as some were predicting, and JPMorgan's sliding profit came in above the consensus. Shares added 7.5% and 7.6%, respectively, over the past five sessions. At the same time, the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF Quote), Ultra Financials ProShares (UYG Quote), iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Sector (IYF Quote) ETF and iShares S&P Global Financials (IXG Quote) all advanced between 4.7% and 10.6%. Also, in a week that saw crude oil hitting record intraday highs every day, the Oil Services HOLDRs (OIH Quote) jumped 10.9%, the Ultra Oil & Gas ProShares (DIG Quote) rocketed 16.1%, the United States Oil (USO Quote) climbed 5.9%, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE Quote) ramped up 8%. On the flip side, bundled securities tracking gold slipped as gold futures sank for the week. The PowerShares DB Gold (DGL Quote), the iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU Quote) and the streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD Quote) funds were all down 0.7% or more. Finally, ETFs tracking Treasury securities faltered as investors shifted their money out of the safe haven of government bonds, having regained at least some of their confidence in equities. The iShares Lehman 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT Quote) fund was off 3.3% for the week, the iShares Lehman 10-20 Year Treasury Bond (TLH Quote) surrendered 2.4%, and the iShares Lehman 7-10 Year Treasury (IEF Quote) was down 1.7%.- Loading Comments...
- Loading Comments...
Recent Comments
Featured Photo Galleries
| Dow Jones | S&P 500 | NASDAQ | 10-Year Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,318.16 | 1,091.38 | 2,146.04 | 33.56 |
Oil *
77.53
|
|
DOWN
14.28
|
DOWN
3.52
|
DOWN
10.78
|
UP
0.07
|
10 Yr
3.36%
SPDR Gold
112.94
|
|
-0.14%
|
-0.32%
|
-0.50%
|
+0.21%
|
Data delayed 20 minutes |














