Thursday's Market Minute: Nasdaq-100 Losing its Lead?

The Nasdaq-100 index futures (/NQ) are lower in premarket trading Thursday, continuing a streak to the downside this week. Shares of all four major indices sold off Monday morning but only the Nasdaq-100 has failed to recover those losses. The past few days may indicate a shift in market sentiment: traders pressing pause on buying the top tech spearheading the recent run in stocks, including Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Instead, the market is seeing a bid in value stocks. The iShares USA Value Factor ETF (NYSE:VLUE), which tracks U.S. large- and mid-cap stocks with value characteristics and relatively lower valuations, is up by more than two percent since the beginning of the trading week, while the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) is down by about the same amount week-to-date. The fund’s top three holdings by percentage include Intel Corpoation (NASDAQ:INTC), AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), and Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU). However, the NDX still has a ways to fall before it loses its lead over the other indexes. Year-over-year, shares are up by more than 30 percent, compared to the second best-performing index over that time frame, the S&P 500 (SPX), which is only up by about seven percent. While tech stocks may bounce back, this bump in the road could also indicate changing trends in a market that is largely dominated right now by coronavirus vaccine headlines and corporate earnings.

Also, to watch today: weekly Jobless Claims are released at 8:30 AM ET and streaming giant Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is set to release 2Q earnings this afternoon. For live coverage of economic data and earnings, tune into the TD Ameritrade Network.