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FANG Stocks Lead Tech Recovery; Bitcoin Takes Out $12K And $13K

Stocks finished narrowly mixed Wednesday as FANG stocks reversed higher and Bitcoin sailed past not just $12k, but $13k.

X PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose nearly 0.5%, while SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) was barely positive and SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) gave up 0.2%. Emerging markets took a hit with iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) down 1.4%.

Techs recovered from Tuesday's sell-off. Facebook (FB) advanced 2% to reclaim its 50-day moving average. Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX) and Alphabet (GOOGL) all reversed to gains as well.

Consumer staples, technology and utilities were among top sector gainers in the stock market today; the biggest decliners included energy, telecom and gold miners. West Texas intermediate crude prices sank 4% to $55.96 a barrel. Gold futures fell more than 1% to $1,262,90 an ounce.

Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) closed with a 6% gain at 1,672. The price of Bitcoin surpassed $12,000 for the first time early Wednesday, then kept surging past $13,000 later in the day to as high as $13,225.20, according to Coindesk. It was recently near $13,160. Bitcoin futures are set to start trading this weekend (Dec. 10) at CBOE Global Markets (CBOE) and at CME Group (CME) Dec. 18.

Apple In Buy Zone?

Tech stocks have come off their highs, but that could help set up new buy opportunities in big names like Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) pulled back close to its 50-day moving average Tuesday, before finding support just above the line. A solid advance from here, or at a subsequent bounce off the 50-day, could offer a fresh chance to buy shares. The ETF rallied 12% from a late-September rebound off its 50-day to its Nov. 28 intraday high.

XLK was last featured in the June 13 ETF column as it found support at its 50-day line. Shares rose 15% from that session's close to the Nov. 28 peak.

The fund, which turns 19 years old later this month, has gathered $18.5 billion in assets. It tracks the Technology Select Sector Index, which provides exposure to the technology and telecom sectors of the S&P 500 index.

Software made up the biggest weighting as of Dec. 4, at about 20% of assets. Internet software and service contributed 18%; technology hardware, storage and peripherals 17%; IT services 16%; and semiconductors and semiconductor equipment 15%. Smaller positions in telecom-related stocks and electronic-parts makers made up the rest.

Apple was the fund's top holding, with a 15% weighting. Microsoft followed at 11% and Facebook at 7%. Apple is trading around 3% off its Nov. 8 high, but remains extended from a 160.97 cup-with-handle buy point cleared in late October. Microsoft is near its 50-day line; Facebook has slipped below its 50-day but is trying to hang on.


IBD'S TAKE: Read IBD's The Big Picture column each day to stay on top of the market direction, a key indicator that lets you know when you can be aggressive and when you should move to the sidelines.


XLK has rallied 30.8% year-to-date through Dec. 4, according to Morningstar Direct, outpacing the S&P 500's 20.1% return. Its average annual returns over the past three, five and 15 years are 16.1%, 18.7% and 10.9%, respectively. The S&P 500 has returned 10.7%, 15.8% and 9.5% for those same periods.

The ETF carries a 0.14% expense ratio.

Tuesday's pick, Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), is still building the right side of a cup base with a 57.46 potential buy point.

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