The biotech sector just can’t catch a break.
Biotech stocks are taking it on the chin again on Tuesday and are dragging the broad market lower, as the selling pressure that has weighed on the sector in recent weeks has yet to abate.
The iShares Nasdaq Biotech ETF dropped more than 2% Tuesday and fell deeper into bear-market territory. The biotech ETF has dropped 23% since peaking in late February. (Any decline of at least 20% from a recent high is considered a bear market.)
- The iShares Nasdaq Biotech ETF (blue line) and its 200-day moving average (red line)
As the chart above shows, the biotech ETF dropped below its 200-day moving average on Monday for the first time since August 2011, a time when Europe was in the throes of a debt crisis and the U.S. credit rating was downgraded. Technical analysts use the 200-day moving average to gauge the market’s long-term trend. When a stock or ETF trades above that level, the long-term trajectory is positive, whereas when it trades below the 200-day, chart watchers expect tougher times ahead....MOREI don't think that's the iShares ETF in the chart, there aren't many ETF's that trade with a four-figure price so it's probably an index.
However you get the same 200-day story with the IBB:
