The first half of 2023 brought many positive developments for investors, driven by outstanding reports from several tech titans. These results broadly exceeded anticipations, strengthening growth sectors – which enjoyed an explosive start to the year – and further intensifying expectations for potential earnings from the emerging AI domain.
Indeed, the Information Technology sector was the best performer within the S&P 500 until the end of July.
Unfortunately, however, the month of August has not gotten off to a good start. The first week proved a tough period for the tech behemoths, as evidenced by the freefall of the S&P Information technology index (-4.14%). Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares lost 3.13% while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stocks plunged 7.07%. Despite the tech giant posting higher-than-expected quarterly profits – partly due to robust demand for services – Apple’s revenue declined as customers curtailed spending.
Chipmakers did not fare any better. They also dragged down the tech sector with Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Inc shedding 6.16% for the week, after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue and guidance. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) Corporation was also hit by the trend reversal (down 4.43%).
Consequently, tech ETFs exhibited poor performance over the course of last week.
Group Data: Information Technology
Index Data
Fund Specific Data: IYW, ARKK, IXN
This content was originally published by our partners at ETF Central.