Tech stocks diverge as U.S.-China trade dispute plays out: software vs. semiconductors

Technology stocks are increasingly diverging from each other as a trade war between the U.S. and China drags on, according to Michael Shaoul, Marketfield Asset Management LLC’s chief executive officer. Shaoul compared software developers with chipmakers, which he called “a trade proxy,” in a report Thursday. He cited the ratio between the S&P 500 Software and Philadelphia Semiconductor indexes. The gauge closed Tuesday at its highest level since a bull market in U.S. stocks began in March 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The peak followed a 22% surge in less than six weeks.