This morning, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that US GDP increased at an annual rate of 4% in the second quarter. This comes as the NASDAQ-100 companies continue to report earnings, including 24 this week. Comcast and Apple have both reported, and are outperforming the NASDAQ-100 this week. The Index is up 3% since the beginning of the quarter and 10.50% year-to-date.

“The NASDAQ-100 will see nearly 1/4 of member companies announcing earnings this week… the 24 reporting companies represent 12.59% of the Index by weight,” said David Krein, Head of Research, NASDAQ OMX Global Indexes.

INDEX MOVES THIS WEEK

• NASDAQ BIOTECHNOLOGY INDEX (NBI) is up 0.95% since Friday’s close. Year-to-date performance for the index is up 14% after being up above 20% at the end of February. Amgen and Gilead are up 5.58% and 4.33%, respectively, this week.
• NASDAQ CLEAN EDGE GREEN ENERGY (CELS) was up 1.13% as of noon on Wednesday. Some of the index’s largest holdings include Tesla Motors, Linear Technology and First Solar.
• PHLX Gold/Silver Sector (XAU) was down 1.53% as of noon on Wednesday. The price of gold is currently $1,293 per ounce, down $10 this week.

INDEX TO WATCH

• The NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index (NQ96DIVUS) consists of 89 technology and telecommunications securities that pay a regular dividend. Over the last year, the index has produced an annual yield of 3.1%, exceeding the NASDAQ US Technology Index’s 1.6% figure.