One sector that has been hit especially hard this week has been semiconductors.  On top of the escalating trade tensions with China of which the sector is highly exposed, weak commentary from Intel (INTC) hasn’t helped.  While off its lows of the day, the S&P 500 Semiconductor and Semiconductor Equipment group is still down more than the broader market with a decline of over 1.5% as of the early afternoon.  If that weakness holds into the close, it will mark the fourth straight day of 1%+ declines.  To put that kind of streak into perspective, since the lows of the financial crisis, there have only been three other four-day stretches where the group showed declines of a similar magnitude and the last time the group had a longer streak was 15 years ago in April 2004!  The most recent of the three prior four-day streaks of 1%+ declines was back in August 2015.

As far as the semiconductor group’s price chart is concerned, the picture isn’t any prettier.  For now, today’s drop has pushed the sector below its 50-DMA for the first time since January.  In the process, the group also sliced right through what was potential support at levels that acted as support in the late summer/ early fall of 2018.  Start a two-week free trial to Bespoke Institutional to access our interactive economic indicators monitor and much more.