SMH focuses on robust generative AI trends, with its top holdings benefiting from the second wave of the cloud computing boom and undisputed AI chip market dominance. Even so, the recent profit-taking trend is unlikely to end, attributed to the ETF's YTD outperformance, the stocks' elevated P/E, and the market rotation from growth stocks. Uncertainty surrounding the US election, geopolitical events in Ukraine/ Gaza, and the macroeconomic outlook may lead to more volatility for SMH in the near term.
VanEck Semiconductor ETF is a high-quality semiconductor ETF that has benefited from the AI gold rush. SMH experienced downside volatility recently, attributed to intensified geopolitical risks and profit-taking. SMH offers investors broader diversification into the semiconductor industry besides benefiting from the AI surge.
My last writing urged you to consider a more concentrated bet on the tech sector with SMH. Now, I urge you to consider the opposite: cash out and better diversify your tech exposure with other sectors or assets. The valuation discount I saw in SMH earlier has now been replaced by an oversized valuation premium.
Amid a rotation into value and small-cap equities, semiconductor stocks and related ETFs are dealing with some selling pressure in the early stages of the third quarter. Some of the well-known semiconductor indexes are sporting month-to-date losses in excess of 5%.
Technology stocks have been a bona fide leader, repelling sell off attempts and pushing higher. Same goes for the undisputed king of technology, the Semiconductors Sector (SMH).
One of Vanguard's ETFs has risen 24% year to date. However, that performance isn't close to the gains delivered by an ETF managed by VanEck.
The stock market has been on an incredible run. And as we have pointed out several times, that bull market run higher has been lead by technology stocks.
The theme of the past couple of weeks has been the S&P 500 pressing higher in spite of weak breadth. With the likes of Nvidia down 5% on the day (and down 14% since last Tuesday's high), the semiconductor ETF (SMH) is testing the uptrend that has been in place since its April lows.
Semiconductor stocks have led the market rally, buoyed by the artificial intelligence (AI) drive.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF is a passive fund that has positions in many leading chip companies. The fund provides investors with exposure to many different aspects of the semiconductor market, providing a degree of diversification.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF has surged over 80% since June 2023, and it is time for some caution. The reason is that the market seems to be favoring chips at the expense of software, something which is illogical. Therefore, there could be a correction in the chip space to the benefit of application software plays.
VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH is probably on the radar for investors seeking momentum. The fund just hit a 52-week high and moved up 104% from its 52-week low price of $136.10/share.