ETF Headline Watch – February 2nd, 2012 (QQQ, UUP, VGK, XLV)

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ETFs worth watching for February 2nd, 2012 include Tech Sector ETFs, US Dollar ETFs, Europe ETFs, and Healthcare ETFs:

PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ): The premiere tech ETF will likely have a field day over Facebook’s IPO filing.  Facebook is set to raise $5 billion and is said to be valued at around $75-100 billion.  As the largest internet tech company IPO filing ever in history, NASDAQ:QQQ will be worthwhile watching.  Other tech ETFs including the Technology SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLK) would be worth watching as well as Facebook’s IPO is likely to have an affect on this Tech ETF too.

PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:UUP):  Be sure to watch any US Dollar related ETFs today, especially NYSEARCA:UUP, as Dr. Bernanke testified to the House Budget Committee about issues regarding Fed interest rate action and US deficit woes today.  The Fed has promised to protect the US Economy from a European disaster, and details surrounding a possible QE3 are vague.  Either way, Fed action triggers dollar action, and US Dollar ETFs such as NYSEARCA:UUP are worth watching.

Vanguard MSCI Europe ETF (NYSEARCA:VGK):  Europe ETFs are well worth watching these days for obvious reasons, however NYSEARCA:VGK is especially important for today, as both Spain and France had better bond auctions and Chancellor Merkel promised China that Europe has their fiscal crisis under control.  Meanwhile, talks with Greece over debt write downs have yet to be resolved.  Europe and market reactions to Europe are important to watch these days, however be sure to watch the NYSEARCA:VGK ETF today.

Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:XLV): Healthcare ETFs like NYSEARCA:XLV are worth watching today as mixed earnings reports from major Pharmaceutical companies including Merck and AstraZenica were released today.  Drug company giant Merck’s (NYSE:MRK) Q4 earnings for 2011 were better than Q4 2010 earnings, while AstraZenica (NYSE:AZN) reported less earnings for Q4 2011 than Q4 2010.  Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) posted worse Q2 2011 earnings compared to Q2 2010, and Cigna Health Insurance (NYSE:CI) reported earnings increases for Q4 2011 compared to Q4 2010.  With mixed earnings reports from several healthcare companies released today, health care ETFs including NYSEARCA:XLV should be on your watch list to avoid any volatility that mixed earnings reports could cause.

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Disclaimer: Wall Street Sector Selector trades a wide variety of ETFs and positions can change at any time.