Exchange-Traded Funds, US Equities Climb After Midday Trading

Broad Market Indicators

Broad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were higher. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 3%.

US equity indexes rose midday Thursday as high-growth sectors such as technology and communication services advanced after the Federal Reserve opted to go big as it eased monetary policy for the first time in four years.

Energy

iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) both rose 1.9%.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rose 3.5%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was up 3.5% while iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was 3.3% higher.

SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) added 4.8%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) was up 5.3%.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) rose 1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 3.2% higher and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) dropped 3%.

Commodities

Crude was up 2%; United States Oil Fund (USO) added 3.6%. Natural gas rose 2%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) edged down 0.5%.

Gold gained 0.7% on Comex, and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) rose 1.7%. Silver was 2.4% higher, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) added 4.1%.

Consumer

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was down 0.5%; Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) were lower.

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 2.3%; retail fund VanEck Vectors Retail ETF (RTH) and SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) were higher.

Health Care

Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) was up 0.3%; iShares US Healthcare (IYH) and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) were higher. iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 1.8%.

Industrial

Select Sector SPDR-Industrial (XLI) rose 1.7%. Vanguard Industrials (VIS) and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) were higher.