Weekly Recap | SPDR S&P Semicon -1.79%, early rally fades

The Week

XSD.US fell 1.79% this week to close at $453.75, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.47%, leaving the fund about 1.32 percentage points behind the benchmark. The week started with a gap higher at $477.61 on Monday (Oct 19), pushed to an intraday high of $483.73 on Wednesday (Oct 21), then faded through Thursday and Friday. The low of $445.03 landed on Friday (Oct 23), and the week’s full range of 8.1% points to a pullback after an early rally. Trading volume stayed close to its recent median.

Sector News

Texas Instruments dominated the semiconductor tape. The company reported third-quarter results after the Oct 22 close, and its CEO said data-centre demand is ‘actually growing’ with no sign of a slowdown. Analysts revised forecasts after the print, and Freedom Broker upgraded the stock. Wells Fargo kept a hold rating on NXP Semiconductors while cutting its price target, and issued a cautious view on Microchip Technology. TD Cowen was more constructive on Analog Devices. Chip stocks bounced Friday pre-market, with Broadcom, NXP and ON Semiconductor all up, after what one report called the steepest weekly sell-off in months. Levered semiconductor ETFs saw their biggest inflow ever, suggesting dip-buyers rotated into geared exposure.

The Week Ahead

The macro calendar clusters on Tuesday, Oct 27: durable goods orders (prior -0.1, forecast 1.5), consumer confidence (prior 81.9, forecast 81), FHFA house prices, Case Shiller data and new home sales. On Monday, Oct 26, the Dallas Fed manufacturing business activity index is due, with a prior reading of 9.8. These releases will test the market’s demand narrative and whether the semiconductor sector can hold onto its valuation recovery.

In Short

XSD.US lagged the broader market this week as the semiconductor complex split after Texas Instruments’ results. The data-centre demand story remains intact, but Wells Fargo’s cautious notes on NXP and Microchip and Friday’s broad chip pullback add tension. The latest daily flow snapshot shows net buying in small and medium orders with large orders flat. The next test is whether durable goods and consumer confidence support the demand outlook.

This article is generated by LongbridgeAI from market data, for information only and not investment advice.