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Exchange-Traded Funds Mixed, Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell Ahead of Key Economic Reports

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The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up marginally, and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) retreated 0.1% in Tuesday's premarket activity as investors looked ahead to key economic data while concluding one of the strongest quarters for US equities in years.

US stock futures were trending lower, with the S&P 500 Index futures, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, and Nasdaq futures down slightly before the start of regular trading.

The Case-Shiller Home Price Index and the Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index, both for April, will be released at 9 am ET.

The Chicago purchasing managers' index for June is slated for a 9:45 am ET release, followed by the June consumer confidence report and May Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at 10 am.

Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack is scheduled to speak on Tuesday.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 1.9%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) fell 2.9%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) retreated by 2.6%.

Power Play:

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was steady, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was up 1%, 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) and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) were inactive.

Patrick Industries (PATK) shares were down more than 8% pre-bell, while LCI Industries (LCII) stock rose 2% after the companies said they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge in an all-stock transaction.

Winners and Losers:

Financial

The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) retreated by 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.6% higher.

Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) shares traded up over 1% in early hours activity after Bloomberg reported that the company is planning to increase its focus on workplace pensions to boost its wealth segment as part of its five-year strategy through 2030.

Healthcare

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced marginally, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) increased 0.4%, and the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) advanced by 0.9%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.3% higher.

BeOne Medicines' (ONC) stock was down slightly premarket, partially reversing the 3.6% gain at the previous close. The company said Brukinsa met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival in a phase 3 study evaluating the drug as a potential treatment in combination with rituximab for mantle cell lymphoma.

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) retreated 0.1%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) gained 0.5% and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.

Hafnia (HAFN) stock was down more than 1% before the opening bell after the company said that Mikael Skov will step down as chief executive officer, effective Sept. 1, and be succeeded by head of asset management Soren Jensen.

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) advanced 0.1%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was fractionally higher, and the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.1%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) increased 0.4%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose 0.1%.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares were up 0.9% in premarket activity following an 8.1% drop at the prior close. The Financial Times reported that the company is cooperating with Taiwanese authorities after investigators searched its Taiwan office as part of a probe into suspected exports of Nvidia (NVDA) artificial intelligence servers to China in violation of trade restrictions. Nvidia stock was 0.7% higher.

Energy

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

Equinor (EQNR) stock was up 0.7% before market open after the company and Var Energi agreed to exchange natural gas assets on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained by 0.6% to $71.20 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas advanced by 2.1% to $3.25 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) increased by 1.1%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 3.3% higher.

Gold futures for July were up by 0.2% to $4,045.30 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures gained by 1.3% to $59.37 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) advanced by 0.1%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.6% higher.

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Commodities

Renewable Fuel Equities Outperform Broader Market Despite Weekly Dip, TPH Energy Says

Second-quarter renewable fuel margins remained stronger than the prior quarter despite mixed weekly trends, while renewable fuel stocks outperformed the broader market, TPH Energy said in a Monday note.Renewable fuel equities slipped an average of 0.1% last week, outperforming the S&P 500's 2.0% decline, TPH said. On the renewable natural gas side, OPAL Fuels (OPAL) gained 14.0%, while Aemetis (AMTX) dropped 12.8%.Green Plains (GPRE) rose 1.8%, although TPH said the stock could have reacted more strongly after the White House urged lawmakers to approve year-round E15 gasoline sales. The company also noted investor interest in Neste, which gained 2.6% despite lower oil prices and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.Weekly margin indicators produced mixed results, with renewable diesel margins increasing by 11 cents per gallon to 50 cents/gal, while Midwest ethanol margins fell 2 cents/gal and US soy crush margins declined $2 per ton. Renewable natural gas margins were unchanged, TPH added.Compared with the first quarter, most spot margin indicators strengthened during the second quarter, with renewable diesel margins from soybean oil rising 81 cents/gal, white grease increasing 49 cents/gal, and corn oil gaining 21 cents/gal, TPH said.Midwest ethanol margins improved 31 cents/gal, soy crush margins increased $52 per ton, and renewable natural gas margins rose $1 per million British thermal units from the first quarter, according to TPH Energy.The largest quarter-over-quarter decline came in renewable diesel produced from tallow, where margins fell by 63 cents/gal as feedstock costs increased sharply, the note added.Among last week's industry developments, the US finalized the Regenerative Feedstock Rule, while LanzaTech canceled its 80,000-metric-ton ethanol-to-jet sustainable aviation fuel plant in Wales, TPH said.The report also highlighted Amazon's (AMZN) investment in Brazilian sustainable aviation fuel producer GranBio and noted that China's used cooking oil exports reached an 18-month high as shipments to the US increased, according to TPH Energy.

$AMTX$AMZN$GPRE$OPAL
Commodities

US Oil Update: Crude Rises as US-Iran De-escalation Eases Supply Disruption Fears

Crude oil futures settled higher in after-hours trading on Monday after an agreement between the US and Iran to halt recent hostilities following a weekend of tit-for-tat strikes that reignited concerns over potential supply disruptions.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 1.8% to $70.45 per barrel, while Brent futures edged higher by 1.1% to $72.78/bbl.Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Research, said the muted move higher can be attributed to US and Iranian rockets in the Persian Gulf over the weekend, which ended with an agreement between the US and Iran to stop.The US and Iran are poised to hold fresh talks on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, President Trump said in a social media post on Monday, following a weekend of hostilities."The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not. We're going to find out... It's really very simple," Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.However, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said "no technical talks" with the US have been scheduled in Doha this week, refuting media reports that the two sides were set to meet in the Qatari capital."Holding technical meetings of the working groups has not been scheduled for this week," Gharibabadi said, adding that the first round of talks will be held once conditions are met.Traffic via the Strait of Hormuz continued to move through on Monday, with MarineTraffic reporting 108 verified crossings between 26 and 28 June, covering container, tanker, LNG-linked, bulk, and service vessel movements.Saxo Bank strategists said Iran's foreign minister reiterated that Tehran retains exclusive authority over traffic through the strategic waterway under the preliminary peace agreement, thereby elevating the risk of renewed supply disruptions.Meanwhile, Iran has stressed that the Hormuz will not return to pre-war conditions, emphasizing its sovereign right over the waterway. Tehran reportedly plans to move forward with exerting its control over maritime traffic via the strategic waterway, even without Oman.Schieldrop said that Oman told European officials that ships may have to pay fees for transiting the Hormuz in the future, while Iran has stated that free passage is guaranteed only for the 60 days of the ongoing US-Iranian negotiations.

Commodities

US Natural Gas Update: Prices Fall as Robust Supply Offsets Heat-Driven Demand Outlook

US natural gas futures extended losses in late trading on Monday as strong domestic production and ample supplies outweighed forecasts of hotter weather that was expected to lift cooling demand across much of the country.The front-month Henry Hub contract and the continuous contract fell 1.83% to $3.172 per million British thermal units.The decline followed strong production data over the weekend. Barchart said US dry gas output climbed to 114 billion cubic feet per day on Sunday, the highest daily production level in more than two and a half months. Citing BNEF data, it said Monday production eased to 111.2 Bcf/d, down 1.3 Bcf/d from Friday but still 2.3% higher than a year earlier.The elevated supply backdrop has continued to limit gains despite expectations for stronger seasonal demand.Gelber & Associates estimated total domestic supply averaged about 116.0 Bcf/d over the past two weeks, consisting of roughly 110.4 Bcf/d of dry gas production and 5.6 Bcf/d of net Canadian imports.Weather forecasts, however, point to rising electricity demand as above-normal temperatures spread across much of the eastern US.The Commodity Weather Group said forecasts turned hotter on Monday, with above-average temperatures expected across the eastern half of the country through July 3. Aegis Hedging said Lower 48 population-weighted temperatures are projected to remain above the 10-year average during the first week of July, supporting natural gas demand.A heat dome centered over the Midwest is forecast to expand eastward this week, bringing triple-digit temperatures to a broad swath of the country and boosting expectations for power-sector gas consumption.BNEF put Lower 48 gas demand at 75.4 Bcf/d on Monday, up 4.2 Bcf/d from Friday and 3.3% higher than a year earlier. Net flows to US LNG export terminals were estimated at 19.2 Bcf/d, up 0.1 Bcf/d from Friday and 1.0% higher than the previous week."As the market adjusts to the new prompt month, the primary test will be whether this incoming wave of midsummer power demand can outpace a resilient supply stack and begin whittling down the overall storage surplus," Gelber & Associates said.