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Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Higher Pre-Bell Tuesday Amid Strait of Hormuz Re-Opening Hopes

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The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 1.1% higher in Tuesday's premarket activity amid hopes for a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the US and Iran could reach a deal Tuesday or Wednesday.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 1.1%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 1.1% before the start of regular trading.

The US international trade deficit narrowed to $73.26 billion in June from a $77.65 billion gap in May, a slightly larger deficit than the expectations for a $73 billion gap in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 am ET.

Factory orders and job openings data for June are due to be released at 10 am ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.1%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was flat, Ether ETF (EETH) retreated 0.01%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was flat.

Power Play:

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) advanced 2.2%, the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 1.9% higher, and the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 1.6%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gained 1.2%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 4.4%.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares were up more than 15% in Tuesday's premarket activity after multiple analyst price target raises followed the company's Q2 beat.

Winners and Losers:

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 1.6%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was up 0.7% and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was 0.8% higher.

Caterpillar (CAT) shares were up 11% after the company reported higher Q2 earnings and revenue.

Health Care

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) retreated 0.1%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) advanced marginally by 0.02%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was down 0.3%.

IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) stock was up 4% premarket after the company posted higher Q2 comparable earnings and revenue.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) gained 1%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was down by 0.8%.

Energy Transfer (ET) stock was up more than 4% before market open after the company reported higher Q2 earnings and revenue.

Financial

The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) declined by 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.7%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.4% higher.

TOP Financial (TOP) shares were up 4% in early hours activity after the company said its board has approved a plan to integrate artificial intelligence into its online brokerage and financial technology platforms.

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.4%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) retreated 0.04%, and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.4%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.4% higher.

NIKE (NKE) shares were down more than 3% pre-bell after JPMorgan downgraded the company's stock to underweight from neutral and cut its price target to $40 from $47.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell by 2.8% to $78.07 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 3% at $2.70 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) decreased by 2.7%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 2.3% lower.

Gold futures for November advanced by 0.7% to $4,119.50 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures gained by 2.7% to reach $59.41 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was up by 0.7%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 3% higher.

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New Jersey Resources Q3 Natural Gas Throughput Declines, Advances Solar Growth Plans

New Jersey Resources (NJR) reported fiscal Q3 earnings Monday, showing total natural gas throughput of 51 billion cubic feet, compared with 52.9 Bcf in the year-ago quarter.Core customer throughput declined to 14.6 Bcf for the quarter ended June 30, down from 19.2 Bcf a year earlier.Off-system and capacity management throughput fell to 10.7 Bcf for the quarter, down from 15.1 Bcf for the same quarter last year, according to the company.Energy Services fuel management and wholesale sales increased to 25.7 Bcf during the quarter from 18.6 Bcf a year earlier, NJR said.The company placed eight commercial solar projects totaling 58 megawatts into service during the first nine months of fiscal 2026, increasing its operating commercial solar portfolio to about 537 MW.The company expects that portfolio to grow by more than 50% by fiscal 2027 and has identified a 1.1 GW pipeline of solar investment opportunities through 2030.New Jersey Natural Gas served about 595,000 customers as of June 30, compared with about 589,000 customers at the end of fiscal 2025.NJR plans to invest $4.8 billion to $5.2 billion through 2030, with over 60% of planned capital allocated to its utility business.

$NJR
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US Natural Gas Update: Futures Edge Up Amid Steady Fundamentals

Natural gas futures edged higher in after-hours trading on Monday as traders weighed shifting US weather forecasts against largely steady supply-and-demand fundamentals.The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract each rose 0.98% to $2.774 per million British thermal units.Natural gas futures were slowly recovering from a low of $2.666 hit last Wednesday as a stretch of below-normal US temperatures reduced air-conditioning demand, allowing inventories to rebuild, Barchart said.Monday's price gains were limited after forecasts again turned cooler, potentially curbing demand from power generators for air conditioning. The Commodity Weather Group said Monday that forecasts had shifted cooler, with near-normal seasonal weather expected across the eastern US through Aug. 17.However, NatGasWeather.com said its data continued to point to a much warmer outlook. "The weather data remains quite hot for the 3-15 day forecast period for strong to very strong national demand," the forecaster said. It added that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 8-14-day outlook showed above-normal temperatures across most of the US, with the exception of areas near the Canadian border.Fundamentals remained relatively stable on Monday. US lower-48 dry gas production was quite a strong 112.5 billion cubic feet per day, down 0.2 Bcf/d from Friday but up 2.6% from a year earlier, Barchart said, citing BNEF data.Lower-48 gas demand totaled 78.7 Bcf/d, down 1.4 Bcf/d from Friday but 14.7% higher than a year ago. Celsius Energy estimated power-sector gas burn at 45.0 Bcf on Aug. 1, down 1.6 Bcf from the previous day but 0.2 Bcf higher than on the same day last year. Average power burn for the week ended Aug. 1 was 46.9 Bcf/d, down 2.4 Bcf/d from the corresponding week a year earlier.Estimated net flows to US LNG export terminals were 18.0 Bcf/d on Monday, up 0.1 Bcf/d from Friday but down 0.8% from Friday. LNG feedgas was flowing below capacity due to maintenance at Freeport LNG, which was expected to keep demand reduced until the end of the month.The latest weekly government storage data showed natural gas inventories were at a very comfortable 6.4% above the five-year average but remained 1.2% below year-earlier levels.

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Gulfport Q2 Production Declines as Company Expands Utica Inventory

Gulfport Energy (GPOR) reported Q2 earnings Monday, showing total production of 962.8 million cubic feet equivalent per day, down from 1,006.3 MMcfe/d a year earlier.Natural gas production declined to 878.4 million cubic feet per day for the quarter ended June 30, down from 891.4 MMcf/d earlier, the company said.Oil and condensate production fell to 4,203 barrels per day for the quarter, down from 7,843 b/d in the year-ago quarter, Gulfport added.Natural gas liquids production decreased to 9,862 b/d for Q2, down from 11,313 b/d for the same quarter last year, according to Gulfport.Production averaged 800 MMcfe/d in the Utica and Marcellus and 162.8 MMcfe/d in the SCOOP, the company said.The production mix comprised about 91% natural gas, 6% natural gas liquids and 3% oil and condensate, according to the company.During the quarter, Gulfport spudded seven gross wells and 6.7 net wells in the Utica and Marcellus. The company drilled 10 gross wells and 9.8 net wells, then completed 12 gross wells and 11.9 net wells. Gulfport also turned eight gross wells and 7.9 net wells to sales in the basin.For the SCOOP, Gulfport completed two gross wells and 1.6 net wells, while also turning two gross wells and 1.6 net wells to sales during the quarter.Gulfport expects average daily production of 1.030 Bcfe/d to 1.055 Bcfe/d in 2026, along with 18,000 b/d to 21,000 b/d of liquids production. Natural gas is expected to represent about 89% of total output, according to the company.Gulfport lowered its full-year base capital expenditure guidance to about $430 million.Gulfport expanded its core Utica inventory through its previously announced Ohio state land acquisition, adding 4,700 net undeveloped acres and about 16 net wet gas locations based on 15,000-foot laterals. The company expects operations to begin in 2027.

$GPOR