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Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Mixed Pre-Bell Friday Amid Renewed US-Iran Tensions Ahead of Q2 Earnings Season

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The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.03%, and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) retreated by 0.4% in Friday's premarket activity, as markets traded mixed amid renewed US-Iran tensions ahead of the Q2 earnings season.

US stock futures were also mixed, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gaining 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.5% before the start of regular trading.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 1.9%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2.1% higher, Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 3.4%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) gained 1.9%.

Power Play:

Financial

The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advanced 0.6%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 1.4%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 1.3% lower.

Circle Internet Group (CRCL) shares traded up 13% in early hours activity after the company said it received approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish First National Digital Currency Bank, which will operate under the name Circle National Trust.

Winners and Losers:

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 0.3%, the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was flat, and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.

EquipmentShare.com (EQPT) stock was up more than 10% before the opening bell after the company said late Thursday it now expects revenue to be in a range of $5.25 billion to $5.68 billion for 2026, up from its previous guidance of $5.15 billion to $5.58 billion.

Health Care

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 0.4%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was up 0.6%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) slipped 1.3%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.1% higher.

Mesoblast (MESO) stock was up more than 4% premarket after the company reported late Thursday that sales of its steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease treatment, Ryoncil, totaled $36 million in fiscal Q4.

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 0.6%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.02% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was flat. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) fell 1.8%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was down 1.6%.

ChipMOS Technologies (IMOS) shares were up more than 3% in premarket activity after the company said that its Q2 revenue rose 28.7% year over year to 7.38 billion New Taiwan dollars ($231.8 million), marking its highest quarterly revenue since 2014.

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was up 0.1%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was flat, and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was down 0.5%. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) advanced 0.1%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.3% higher.

XPeng (XPEV) shares were up 1% pre-bell after the company said it has started employee testing of its Robotaxi platform.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was flat, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was up by 0.5%.

BW LPG (BWLP) stock was up more than 1% before market open after the company said its BW LPG India subsidiary has agreed to sell BW Elm vessel to an unnamed buyer for cash proceeds of $64 million.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced by 0.4% to $72.33 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down by 1.4% to $2.97 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) retreated by 0.4%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.6% lower.

Gold futures for July fell 0.8% to $4,107.70 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures retreated by 1.3% to $59.95 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) decreased 0.5%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.5% lower.

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Commodities

Update: Market Chatter: Petrobras Eyes Bolivia Upstream Return, YPFB Partnership

(Updates with Bolivia's Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy response in paragraphs 4-5.)Petrobras (PBR) and Bolivia will start technical discussions next week as the Brazilian state oil firm weighs re-entering the country's upstream sector, with the talks also expected to cover cooperation with state energy company YPFB, Reuters reported Thursday, citing Energy Minister Marcelo Blanco.Energy Minister Marcelo Blanco said Petrobras is willing to help restructure YPFB. He added the talks will assess the company's role in Bolivia's energy sector, but gave no investment details or timeline.Bolivia expects updated oil and gas reserve estimates by the end of last year next week after an independent firm completes its assessment, YPFB President Sebastian Daroca said.Bolivia's Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy toldin an emailed response that Petrobras and Bolivian authorities agreed during a Wednesday meeting to establish technical roundtables to further discuss issues of mutual interest and evaluate opportunities for cooperation.Petrobras recognizes the importance of strengthening institutional dialogue with Bolivia and jointly developing a technical agenda, the ministry added.Petrobras and YPFB did not immediately reply to' request for comment.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

$PBR
Commodities

US Natural Gas Update: Futures Fall Over 6% After Storage Build, Freeport LNG Maintenance

US natural gas futures tumbled in after-hours trading on Thursday, following government data showing a larger-than-expected increase in storage and as maintenance at the Freeport LNG export terminal was set to begin, pointing to weaker near-term demand.The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract both fell 6.23% to $3.012 per million British thermal units.The US Energy Information Administration said working gas in storage increased by 61 billion cubic feet during the week ended July 3, exceeding analysts' expectations for a build of between 51 Bcf and 57 Bcf. The injection also surpassed the five-year average increase of 51 Bcf for the period.Total gas inventories rose to 2,983 Bcf, the EIA said. While stocks remained 15 Bcf below year-earlier levels, the surplus to the five-year average widened to 185 Bcf from 175 Bcf the previous week.The larger-than-expected storage injection reinforced expectations of a looser supply-demand balance, weighing on prices.Additional pressure came from the start of a planned maintenance turnaround at the Freeport LNG export facility on the US Gulf Coast, scheduled for Friday, Reuters reported.The work, which is expected to continue through the end of next month, will reduce feedgas demand by keeping gas that would otherwise be liquefied for export in the domestic market.Weather forecasts also added to the bearish sentiment. Pinebrook Energy Advisors said the latest midday run of the Global Forecast System Ensemble model showed lower cooling demand next week, implying weaker natural gas consumption from power generators.Barchart, citing BNEF data, said US dry gas production rose to 113.5 Bcf per day on Thursday, up 1.9 Bcf/d from Wednesday and 6.8% higher than the same day a year earlier.Lower-48 gas demand also increased by 1.9 Bcf/d day over day to 78.1 Bcf/d, edging up 0.1% from a year ago. According to Celsius Energy, power sector gas consumption, or Powerburn, totaled 43.8 Bcf on July 7, up 0.3 Bcf from the previous day but 4.4 Bcf below the year-earlier level.Over the past seven days, Powerburn averaged 42.5 Bcf/d, down 1.1 Bcf/d from the corresponding period last year, it said.

Commodities

Market Chatter: Petrobras Eyes Bolivia Upstream Return, YPFB Partnership

Petrobras (PBR) and Bolivia will start technical discussions next week as the Brazilian oil company weighs re-entering the country's upstream sector, with the talks also expected to cover cooperation with state energy company YPFB, Reuters reported Thursday, citing Energy Minister Marcelo Blanco.Energy Minister Marcelo Blanco said Petrobras is willing to help restructure YPFB. He added the talks will assess the company's role in Bolivia's energy sector, but gave no investment details or timeline.Bolivia expects updated oil and gas reserve estimates by the end of last year next week after an independent firm completes its assessment, YPFB President Sebastian Daroca said.Bolivia's Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Petrobras, and YPFB did not immediately reply to' request for comment.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

$PBR