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Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell Tuesday as Traders Prepare for Fed Meeting

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The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.2%, and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.1% lower in Tuesday's premarket activity as traders prepare for the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting.

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

The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State manufacturing index fell to 7.6 in September from 20.6 in August, compared with a smaller expected decrease to a reading of 15.0 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 2.7%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2.7% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) declined 2.7%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was up 1.1%.

Power Play:

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.3%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) were inactive. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) were inactive.

Sysco (SYY) shares were down 2% after the company said late Monday it plans to launch an offering of $1 billion of its shares.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 0.1%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) and the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) were inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.5% lower.

Vera Therapeutics (VERA) stock was 13% higher after the company said its kidney disease drug met all prespecified endpoints in a phase 3 trial final efficacy analysis.

Financial

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

Enova International (ENVA) shares were down 17% after the company withdrew its applications with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for the proposed acquisition of Grasshopper Bancorp.

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) retreated 0.4%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.

Forgent Power Solutions (FPS) shares were 8% higher after the company reported higher fiscal Q4 adjusted net income and revenue.

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) advanced 0.01%, the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.02% higher, and the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.9%.

Teradyne (TER) stock was 1% higher after the company said it has opened an office in Bengaluru, India, in a bid to expand its footprint in the country.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was inactive, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was up by 0.2%.

Shell (SHEL) shares were advancing 0.3% after a similar retreat in the prior session. The company said it has started production at its new grease manufacturing plant in Indonesia with a capacity of up to 12 kilotonnes per year.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up by 1% at $102.41 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 0.6% at $2.88 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) increased by 0.5%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.6% lower.

Gold futures for November retreated by 0.7% to $4,322.00 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures retreated by 0.7% to $63.69 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was down by 0.1%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) rose by 0.4%.

What else is happening in Commodities?

Commodities

EPA Finalizes Repeal of 2024 Power Plant Emissions Rules, Proposes Scrapping Remaining Standards

The US Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized the repeal of most Biden-era greenhouse gas standards for power plants and proposed rescinding all remaining federal climate rules for the sector.Administrator Lee Zeldin unveiled the repeal at the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial in Houston, alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and National Energy Dominance Council Executive Director Jarrod Agen.EPA said the final rule would save $310 billion, and the proposed repeal would add another $370 million in compliance-cost savings if adopted.The final rule strikes down most of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, which required power plants to use emissions-control technology EPA now says was not "adequately demonstrated" and exceeded the agency's authority under the Clean Air Act.EPA cited the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in West Virginia vs EPA, which limited the agency's authority to reshape the power sector's fuel mix.The broader proposal would go further, eliminating remaining greenhouse gas rules for power plants entirely.EPA said that after the repeal of the 2009 Endangerment Finding and the Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision overturning Chevron deference, the Clean Air Act does not authorize it to regulate power-plant emissions on climate grounds.The agency also said potential public health harms from the plants' emissions are too diffuse to justify federal regulation.Zeldin said the rules would lower electricity prices and expand coal and natural gas use, calling the 2024 standards part of a "war on coal" by prior administrations."Americans will see a decrease in electricity prices, but this is just the beginning," Zeldin noted.Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the change would support baseload power generation."Today's announcement will help ensure reliable electricity generation regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining by allowing coal and natural gas plants to keep generating power when Americans need it most," Wright said.EPA projects coal use for power generation could increase more than tenfold as a result of the rule changes, which it frames as part of a broader push for US "energy dominance."The proposed repeal will be subject to a public hearing 15 days after publication in the Federal Register, followed by a 45-day public comment period.America's Power, a trade association representing coal-fired power plants, welcomed the move. President and Chief Executive Officer Michelle Bloodworth said the repeal would help preserve the coal fleet."Overturning these examples of EPA overreach will help preserve and strengthen the US coal fleet, protect grid reliability, and shield electricity consumers from higher costs at a time of surging demand from data centers, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing," Bloodworth said.She said the rules being repealed would have threatened the retirement of over 170 coal plants across 37 states, and cited EPA's estimate that utilities and ratepayers will save roughly $1.2 billion a year as a result.

Commodities

US Treasury Amends Venezuela License to Block Citgo Governance Changes

The US Treasury Department on Monday amended a Venezuela-related license to prevent unauthorized changes to Citgo Petroleum's governance and that of its US parent companies.The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the revised license authorizes certain transactions involving Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, and entities in which it holds a direct or indirect 50% or greater interest.The measure covers Citgo Petroleum, PDV Holding and Citgo Holding, placing limits on corporate governance actions involving the companies under the amended authorization.The amended license restricts the appointment, removal or replacement of directors, officers and other corporate governance officials at Citgo and its US parent companies.The action comes as Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez seeks greater control over the country's overseas assets after Washington formally recognized her government and as Caracas changes law firms handling foreign court cases, according to a Reuters report.

Commodities

US Natural Gas Update: Futures Climb on Demand Outlook and Crude

US natural gas futures pared gains in after-hours trading Monday but remained higher on crude gains and strong domestic demand.The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract both rose by 1.87% to $2.884 per million British thermal units.Oil prices rose Monday after attacks disrupted a key Saudi oil pipeline, while Houthi militants in Yemen tightened their control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, intensifying pressure on Middle East crude-export routes already strained by the US-Iran conflict.In the US, warmer weather forecasts for the second half of September also supported prices. Temperature outlooks trended hotter over the weekend, adding significant population-weighted cooling degree days for the coming week, Pinebrook Energy Advisors said.While late-September heat is less impactful on national energy demand than the extreme temperatures seen earlier this month, current forecasts point to elevated power burn persisting through month-end. Gelber & Associates said it expects the late cooling demand would further constrain storage builds, effectively taking 4.0 Tcf off the table and reducing the odds of inventories surpassing 3.9 Tcf before winter.Strong demand for LNG feedgas also helped keep prices up. Flows reached a fresh two-week high of 19.8 Bcf/d as deliveries recovered at the Freeport and Golden Pass LNG facilities, Gelber said. Aegis Hedging said commissioning activity at Golden Pass remained choppy, potentially signaling a slower ramp-up for additional trains at the facility.Supplies also supported higher prices, with Canadian imports falling to a two-week low of 4.2 Bcf/d and pulling total supply down to 117.4 Bcf/d, Gelber & Associates said adding that the decline in imported supply is becoming increasingly significant as warmer weather revisions across the Midwest, South Central and Northeast are expected to sustain cooling demand over the coming week.Average gas output across the Lower 48 states fell to a two-week low on Friday, Trading Economics said, but rebounded on Monday to 114.4 Bcf/d, Barchart said, citing BNEF data, a 5.2% increase over production this time last year.