There’s one group of stocks that has weathered the market volatility stemming from the U.S.-Iran war: Tech. The S & P 500 technology sector is down just 0.8% since the conflict began, while the overall benchmark has fallen nearly 4%. On an equal-weighted basis, tech’s outperformance is even stronger. The Invesco S & P 500 Equal Weight Tech ETF (RSPT) is down just 0.3% this month and has jumped 3% this week, while the equal weight S & P 500 is down 5.7% in March and 0.1% for the week. The relative outperformance could be due to investors using tech as a sort of safe haven. It may also be investors betting that the artificial intelligence revolution will continue despite the war. “A basket of AI leaders — expressed as a ratio vs S & P 500 ex-AI stocks — is making a higher high. [We’re] always drawn to trends that don’t quit when the world changes,” Goldman Sachs traders wrote to clients. However, Mark Newton of Fundstrat doesn’t think this trend will hold. “Technology now looks to be up against strong resistance in Equal-weighted terms,” he said in a note to clients. Indeed, the RSPT is nearing its highest relative level to the equal weight S & P 500 since late January. Above that is RSPT’s strongest relative level on record, which was reached in November. “This looks to be a difficult spot for ‘Tech’ after a constructive bounce, and I feel it’s imperative to keep a close eye on stocks like [Micron], [Ciena], [Western Digital], [and Seagate Technology] heading into next week.” Micron shares are up more than 4% week to date on the release of strong quarterly results. Ciena , meanwhile, is up 22% in that time. Western Digital and Seagate have popped 16.4% and 13.3%, respectively. After such gains, Newton noted that many of these stocks should “find strong overhead resistance,” making it harder for them to continue moving higher.
Tech has held up during Iran war. Why Fundstrat says it may be in trouble
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