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Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Down Pre-Bell Wednesday as Brent Crude Exceeds $100 a Barrel

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The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.4% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.6% lower in Wednesday's premarket activity as front-month North Sea Brent crude-oil futures exceeded $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

US stock futures were mixed, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.4%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures losing 0.5% before the start of regular trading.

Mortgage applications fell by 2.7% in the week ended Sept. 4 as a further increase in 30-year fixed mortgage rates depressed both refinancing activity and new home applications, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 1.2%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.2% higher, Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 0.7%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was flat.

Power Play:

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 0.6%, the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was inactive, and the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 0.5%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was down 1.3%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) dropped by 1.2%.

Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) shares were down more than 2.2% in premarket activity after the company reported it will invest at least 13 billion euros ($15.10 billion) into AI infrastructure in Finland in 2027 through 2028.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 0.2%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was up 0.3%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) dropped by 0.2%.

InnovAge Holding (INNV) stock was up more than 14% premarket after the company swung to fiscal Q4 earnings following stronger-than-expected revenue growth.

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.4%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was inactive, and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.8%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was down 0.5%.

Amazon.com (AMZN) shares were down 1.6% pre-bell after the company launched its first sterling bond sale Wednesday, with a four-part offering expected to price later in the day, according to a Bloomberg report.

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI), the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) remained inactive, and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.

Alamos Gold (AGI) stock was up more than 1.4% before the opening bell after closing down 1.4% Tuesday.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was inactive, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was up by 0.9%.

TotalEnergies (TTE) stock was up more than 1.3% before market open after Bloomberg News reported that TotalEnergies-backed NEO Next+ is among potential suitors considering buying BP's (BP) North Sea operations, the news outlet quoted people familiar with the matter as saying.

Financial

The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) retreated 0.3%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 1.1% lower, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.9% higher.

HSBC Holdings (HSBC) shares were down 1.2% in early-hours activity after the company reported it is shutting down its transaction services operations in Germany, leading to more than 300 job cuts, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing a company spokesperson.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 2.8% to $95.66 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 2% at $2.86 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) increased by 1.8%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.8% lower.

Gold futures for November advanced by 0.1% to $4,446.10 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures lost by 0.4% to reach $66.77 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was up by 0.8%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) rose by 0.6%.

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Commodities

Nodal Exchange US Power Futures Share Reaches 55% In August

Nodal Exchange reported higher trading activity across power, natural gas, and environmental markets in August, with power futures volume rising 8% from July to 214.2 megawatt-hours.Nodal said US power futures open interest reached 1.451 billion MWh at August-end, giving the exchange a 55% share of the US power futures market.The exchange launched 168 hourly power futures contracts across 7 locations on Aug. 31, offering 24 hourly contracts per location with expiries covering the next 5 days.Natural gas futures volume reached 51.2 million MMBtu in August, up 61% from 31.8 million MMBtu a year earlier, while open interest rose by 147%.Environmental futures and options recorded 35,150 lots in August, while open interest ended at 454,313 lots, up 12% from a year earlier, Nodal said.Carbon futures and options posted 12,792 lots of volume and 70,505 lots of open interest, while renewable energy certificates recorded 20,739 lots and 365,799 lots, respectively.Nodal and IncubEx launched financially settled futures and options tied to daily price assessments from Oil Price Information Service on Aug. 17.The products include Washington Carbon Allowance versus California Carbon Allowance spread futures, as well as California Low Carbon Fuel Standard credit futures and options."Managing risk in all of our markets is increasingly important, and we will continue to seek to best meet the evolving needs of the participants we serve," said Paul Cusenza, Chairman and CEO of Nodal Exchange.

Commodities

US Natural Gas Update: Futures Drop on Abundant Supplies and Late-Summer Cooling

US natural gas prices remained down in after-hours trading Tuesday as ample supplies and expectations for cooler weather later this month outweighed bullish near-term forecasts for heat across much of the country.The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract each fell 2.35% to $2.905 per million British thermal units.Above-average inventories and strong US production pressured prices despite near-term forecasts of hotter weather. Commodity Weather Group said forecasts had shifted hotter, with above-average temperatures expected across the US South through Sept. 17. However, its 11-15 day outlook calls for noticeably cooler conditions in the second half of September. Later-month forecasts caused prices to drop as low as $2.863/MMBtu earlier in the day.Natural gas demand remained elevated through early September. Barchart, citing BNEF data, said Lower-48 gas demand was 76.1 Bcf/d on Tuesday, up 12.3% from a year earlier. Celsius Energy said average daily powerburn for the week ended Sept. 7 was 45.4 Bcf/d, up 3.8 Bcf/d from the same week last year. However, powerburn fell to 41.2 Bcf/d on Sept. 7, Celsius said.Strong demand from LNG export facilities provided some support. BNEF data showed LNG feedgas flows were near capacity at 19.8 Bcf/d on Tuesday, up 1.9 Bcf/d from the previous week.But planned maintenance is expected to curb LNG feedgas demand in September and October. Natural Gas Intelligence reported that annual maintenance at Cove Point LNG in Maryland could reduce feedgas demand from Appalachia by about 850 MMcf/d for up to three weeks beginning Sept. 19.Strong production also weighed on the market. US output was estimated at 112.5 Bcf/d on Tuesday, while Canadian imports fell to 4.6 Bcf/d, according to Gelber & Associates, leaving the overall supply picture somewhat tighter than the previous week.But ample inventories more than offset the modest supply tightening. US natural gas stocks stood at 3,214 Bcf, 160 Bcf, or 5.2% above the five-year average, according to the latest weekly report from the US Energy Information Administration.

Commodities

US Power Update: Electricity Prices Mixed Tuesday As MISO Hits $378.30/MWh Peak

US electricity prices varied widely across major markets Tuesday afternoon, with natural gas dominating the fuel mix and intraday peaks reaching $378.30 per megawatt-hour, according to data from GridStatus.io.Electric Reliability Council of Texas' real-time locational marginal price stood at $22.62/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load reached 47.14 gigawatts, with natural gas making up the largest share of the generation mix at 40.6%.California Independent System Operator's real-time LMP came in at $42.36/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load was 12.72 GW, with solar providing the largest share of the generation mix at 51.3%.Southwest Power Pool's real-time LMP was $28.92/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load totaled 40.72 GW, with natural gas holding the largest share of the generation mix at 35.7%.PJM's real-time LMP stood at $34.70/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load reached 113.81 GW, while gas supplied the largest share of the generation mix at 41.3%. Prices rose to an intraday high of $276.35/MWh at 2:30 p.m. ET.Midcontinent Independent System Operator's real-time LMP came in at $35.44/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load was 84.37 GW, with natural gas making up the largest share of the generation mix at 32.8%. Prices climbed to an intraday peak of $378.30/MWh at 7:00 a.m. ET.New York Independent System Operator's real-time LMP was $45.56/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load totaled 19.61 GW, with dual fuel representing the largest share of the generation mix at 30.0%. Prices reached an intraday high of $202.70/MWh at 10:40 a.m. ET.ISO New England's real-time LMP stood at $62.38/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load reached 12.43 GW, with natural gas providing the largest share of the generation mix at 46.1%.Independent Electricity System Operator's real-time LMP was $49.98/MWh at 4 p.m. ET. Net load was 19.68 GW at 3:55 p.m. ET, with nuclear accounting for the largest share of the generation mix at 44.1%.The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center forecasts above-normal temperatures across much of the western and southern US from Sept. 16 to Sept. 22, with below-normal to near-normal readings across parts of the Midwest and Northeast.