PowerShares QQQ : Nasdaq 100 (QQQQ)

Company

QQQQ 1-year chart QQQQ 1-year chart

"PowerShares QQQ™ seeks to replicate the NASDAQ-100 Index®, which includes 100 of the largest, most innovative non-financial companies that trade on the NASDAQ Stock Market®. Formerly known as the NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock® or QQQ, PowerShares QQQ™ gained its popularity through investment professionals, private investors and more recently, financial advisors." (company website)

QQQQ 6-month chart
QQQQ 6-month chart

Buy

8-Dec-08. Despite the grim economic news last week, the market is buoyed by all the talk of a massive stimulus program and the likely bailout of the Big 3 auto makers.

  • Percentage price oscillator (PPO) — above signal line due to recent rally and gaining momentum, all facts to the contrary.
  • Volume — declining gradually since mid-October

Based on technical analysis, MarketEdge upgraded QQQQ to "neutral".

Sell

gain Bottom line
1.5%

31-Dec-08. I closed out my position today, choosing to carry over no stocks into the new year.

MarketEdge has QQQQ as a Neutral, up from Avoid, and says it is still in a weak downtrend. My reading of the chart is a little different. I see a bottom in late November and a current test of both the 20-day and 50-day moving averages. The Bollinger band is narrower now than at any time since September, and an optimist can see a nice symmetrical triangle; an Über-optimist can even imagine a breakout above it. Hey, it's a new year!