Here’s what caught my eye yesterday, April 18. For a big change from recent losses, the chip group of stocks was all in the green. And not just by a pinch either.
Yesterday Nvidia (NVDA) was up 2.47%: NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) was up 1.91%; Synaptics (SYNA) was up 4.49%; and Qualcomm (QCOM) was up 1.76%.
Is something going on, I asked myself (getting the usual enlightening answer)?
Today, April 19, as of 3 p.m. New York time, the sector is also in the green although the gains aren’t as large.
Nvidia is up 1.44%; Qualcomm is up 0.98%; NXP Semiconductors is up 2.71. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Marvell Technology (MRLV) are out performing Monday’s gains with pickups of 2.47% and 2.78%, respectively.
Just in case you’ve forgotten how bad this sector looked last week: on Friday, April 15, Nvidia lost 4.26%; NXP Semiconductors lost 0.60%; Synaptics lost 4.31%, and Qualcomm lost 2.56%.
I think this “trend,” if two days of trading actually qualifies as a trend, deserves watching. My suspicion is that the drop in oil prices today–U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 5.62% as of 3 p.m. in New York–has helped set off a widespread rally. (The Standard & Poor’s 500 is up 1.26% as of 3 p.m. New York time.) And that traders are buying in anticipation of more solid than expected technology earnings in the next couple of weeks.
Netflix (NFLX), which reported earnings after the close today was up 3.16% as of 3 p.m. And yes I know Netflix isn’t really a technology stock but the shares could help reinforce positive sentiment if the company reports a positive surprise today.
Which we now know it didn’t. Down 25.49% after hours.
So now the question is How far does the Netflix damage extend tomorrow?
