Contrary D20 Rises as Dow, S&P Drop

The Driverless Transportation (D20) Stock Index advanced this week, contrary to the Dow Jones Industrials and the S&P 500 which both declined. With 13 gainers and seven losers the D20 added 1.7 points to close the week at 158.44, up 1.1 percent. The index of the automated and connected auto industry hovers near its high, showing investor faith in the technology remains strong.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 gained ground early in the week as the Fed announced its first interest rate hike since 2006. Later in the week, both indexes gave it all back and more with sagging crude oil prices and mixed economic signals troubling the markets. The Dow lost 0.8 percent to end the week at 17128.55 while the S&P 500 lost 0.3 percent and finished at 2005.55.

Reacting to rival NXP Semiconductors’ (NXPI) announcement that it will purchase Freescale Semiconductor Ltd. (FSL) to become the largest semiconductor manufacturer for the automotive industry, Renesas (TYO:6732) lost 6.1 percent of its price, closing at 781 Yen per share.

Three stocks shone for the contrary D20 this week. Tesla (TSLA) gained 6.2 percent to finish at $230.46; BYD (BYDDY) added 7.1 percent and ended the week at $10.73; and Blackberry (BBRY) topped all gainers by jumping 12.3 percent and closing at $8.61 after announcing a sizable increase in software sales.

Please visit the Driverless Transportation (D20) Stock Index page to learn more about it and its component stocks.