Over $1-trillion in market cap added to tech sector in 2019

New York — For technology stocks, the superlatives are endless in 2019. But rather than take profits and run, investors are flooding the space.

The sector is outperforming every other industry. In 17 weeks, only one has seen technology finish in the red. And more than $1-trillion in market capitalisation has been added over the span of four months. Even with tech valuations at levels never seen before this bull market, the sector is seeing more interest than any other.

“Tech flows are white hot,” Steven DeSanctis, a US equity strategist for Jefferies, wrote in a note to clients on Sunday.

In the week ended April 26, three of the stock exchange-traded funds (ETF) that attracted the most interest were tech-centric — the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1, which tracks the Nasdaq 100, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund, and the Vanguard IT ETF.

And while US equities had more than $6bn in net outflows last week, tech stocks saw $1.3bn enter their coffers, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch data, citing EPFR Global. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 traded little changed before midday on Monday in the US.

Fuelled in large part by a massive trade on April 23, investors poured more than $400m into the Vanguard fund, known by its ticker VGT, last week. That amounts to the largest weekly inflow ever for the $21bn fund. It recently overtook its State Street Corporation competitor, XLK, to become the most popular technology sector ETF on the market.

Apple, which is set to report earnings on Tuesday, is VGT’s largest holding. Microsoft is the second-largest, and combined, the two companies make up roughly 30% of the ETF.

Bloomberg