QUICK TAKE: What Gives with Tech Stocks?

Volatility is back – especially in certain stock sectors. But is it good? Bad?

Elliott Wave International’s Head of Global Research, Murray Gunn, offered these comments on Amazon and other recent negative tech news:

The new wave of volatility is wreaking havoc on tech stocks. The tech fear gauge, NYSEs Fang+ (comprising of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) just hit a 13-year high! Is this the start of something bigger or just a blip on the tech radar?

Whether its been President Trumps tweets slamming Amazon, Facebooks data woes or self-driving car accidents, news flow has been particularly negative for the technology sector recently, Gunn began. This is interesting because news normally lags stock prices. Bad news tends to come in bulk after markets have already topped. Furthermore, antitrust rhetoric of the sort that the U.S. president has expressed tends to materialize near major tops, after the targeted company or sector has experienced a period of outperformance. So, the president’s spat with Amazon could be a clue that a top in technology or even the market as a whole is close if not behind us.