Following Monday’s drop, broad US markets are up and are reaching new all-time highs intra-day. Three oil-train derailments in the US in the last few months have given investors cause for concern in the oil markets. The semiconductor industry is up this week in part due to consolidation deals in the space as well as recent upgrades by investment bank analysts.

“Speculation following recent train derailments carrying oil across the US has spurred widespread safety concerns. The markets are currently reflecting these concerns by selling off their oil producing companies,” said David Krein, Managing Director of NASDAQ OMX Global Indexes.

INDEX MOVES THIS WEEK

• PHLX OIL SERVICE SECTOR (OSX) and NASDAQ GLOBAL OIL & GAS INDEX (NQG0001) were down -0.76% and -0.68%, respectively as of noon on Wednesday from the most recent Friday close. The price of crude oil was $94.35 per barrel.
• NASDAQ BIOTECHNOLOGY (NBI) was up 1.69% on the heels of the index’s best year in the past decade.
• NASDAQ GLOBAL CNSMR GOODS INDEX (NQG3000) is flat at 0.10% following the end of the holiday season on speculation that it may be an even-keeled winter for consumers.

INDEX TO WATCH
Recent mobile deal announcements to shift consumers from one brand to another are spurring interest in the industry. In addition, the Apple/China Mobile deal has garnered much fanfare. Look for activity in the space by tracking the NASDAQ OMX CEA SMARTPHONE (QFON), which is up 29% year-over-year.