FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Exchange-Traded Funds Rise, US Equities Mixed After Midday

By

Broad Market Indicators

Broad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV edged higher. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) eased 0.5%.

US equity indexes traded mixed, as chipmakers continued to weigh on the Nasdaq Composite.

Energy

IShares US Energy ETF (IYE) and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) fell about 1.4% each.

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) shed 1.3%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) fell 0.8%, and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 1%.

The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) slipped 3.9%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) fell 3.9%.

Financial

The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) added 1.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) advanced 3.2%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), declined 3.1%.

Commodities

Crude oil dropped 5.8%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) fell 4.2%. Natural gas dipped 3.6%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) fell 2.7%.

Gold on Comex fell 0.9%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) dipped 1.1%. Silver was down 1.9%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) lost 2%.

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) was up 2.1%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) added 2.1%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) was up 2.2%.

The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was up 1.3%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) added 1.6%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) gained 1.9%.

Healthcare

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) rose 2.2% and iShares US Healthcare (IYH) added 2.1%, and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) gained 2%. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 0.9%.

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) slipped 0.3%. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was down 0.4% and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) rose 0.3%.

Cryptocurrency

In midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 1.4%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) eased 1.2%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was down 1.5%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was 1.7% higher.

Related Articles

Asia Markets

Correction: Abu Dhabi, Dubai Stocks Begin US Fed Week in Green

(Corrects to remove Emirates Islamic Bank ticker)Shares in the United Arab Emirates closed Monday higher as investors shift their attention to the US Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision due later in the week while keeping watch of the latest regional developments in the Middle East.At the close of trading, the FTSE ADX General Index was up 0.173%, while the DFM General Index added 0.987%.The US Fed will announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday, with markets expecting the federal funds rate to remain unchanged amid persistent inflation, volatile oil prices, and geopolitical risks."Our base case is that the Fed will stay on hold at 3.5-3.75% in July. But the spike in oil prices has made it a close call. With markets now pricing nearly 10bp of hikes in July, Chair Warsh faces a difficult choice. Not hiking could challenge the Fed's credibility on inflation. But raising rates would go against his framework of looking through supply shocks," BofA Global Research said. "We think July is Warsh's call as he has enough votes either way. He has strategic incentives to hike soon. We still expect three 25bp hikes, in Sep, Oct & Dec."Boosting investor sentiment is the temporary pause in the exchange of attacks between the US and Iran, raising hopes for renewed diplomatic talks. However, the Iran-backed Houthi forces attacked two energy facilities in Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the latter's air strikes on its military positions in Hodeidah.Back home and on the corporate front, FAB Securities reiterated its accumulate rating on the National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah (ADX:RAKBANK), d/b/a Rakbank, with a price target of 10 Emirati dirhams per share, citing resilient profitability growth in the second quarter backed by an increase in net funded and non-funded income. Its shares closed the session 0.66% higher.Over in Dubai, Emirates Islamic Bank executed a host-to-host integration of its banking platform with Taaleem Holdings' (DFM:TAALEEM) enterprise resource planning system to enhance the latter's payment processes. Taaleem shares were 0.63% in the green at the time of closing.

^DFMGI^FADGIADX:RAKBANKDFM:EIBANKDFM:TAALEEM
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Chipmakers Drop, Pause in Iran Strikes Sinks Crude Oil

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes traded mixed as concerns over circular investments in the artificial intelligence industry hurt chipmakers and a third consecutive day of pause in Iran strikes sank crude oil.The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5% to 52,210.08, and the S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% to 7,413.18 on Monday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 24,932.08.Technology was the third-worst performer after energy and utilities. Among companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, seven of the 10 worst performers were from the semiconductor and semiconductor equipment and materials industries.Nvidia (NVDA) has agreed to expand its partnership with South Korean conglomerate SK Group through an artificial intelligence infrastructure initiative valued at more than $500 billion. The deal announced Saturday includes a long-term partnership between Nvidia and SK Hynix (SKHY) that will provide the US technology giant a stable supply of next-generation AI memory. Nvidia's shares dropped 4.4%, the Dow's steepest decliner. The SK Hynix stock plummeted 5.6%.Separately, Nvidia is in talks to provide a roughly $250 billion financial backstop for Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI as part of a massive data center project in southern Ohio that could cost more than $500 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), with net assets of $77.2 billion, fell 2.3%.In geopolitical news, the US paused military attacks against Iran over the weekend, while Tehran also refrained from retaliatory action, according to a Commerzbank note. "They asked us very nicely, 'Please stop, let's meet,'" Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, according to CNN. "And that's where we are right now, see what happens. If we don't make a deal, we go back to the same thing."Messages are still being passed between the sides through mediators, and Iran has not forsaken diplomacy, but reports that Iran is requesting negotiations are "fabricated," Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday, according to Reuters.Almost all of the 78 vessels that crossed the Strait of Hormuz since Saturday used the route designated by Iran, and none were recorded using the southern route near Oman's coast promoted by the US, CNN cited Mariks, a shipping industry intelligence provider, in its news report.Front-month US West Texas Intermediate sank 8.3% to $81.91 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent plunged 9.4% to $87.70 a barrel.Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year down three basis points to 4.65% and the two-year lower by 1.1 basis points to 4.32%, as lower crude oil prices bode well for the 2% inflation target.In precious metal markets, gold futures rose 0.3% to $4,083.9, while silver futures edged down 0.2% to $58.80.In economic news, new orders for US durable goods rose by 0.3% in June following a decline of 4.0% in May compared with the expectations for 1.8% in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Excluding a 0.2% decrease in transportation orders, new orders would have been up 0.6% in June after a 1.8% increase in May. Expectations were for a 0.8% gain.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$MSFT$NVDA$SKHY$SMH
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Tech Heads Lower, Crude Oil Sinks on Pause in Iran Strikes

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes traded mixed as investor concerns grew over circular investments in the artificial intelligence industry and as crude oil prices plunged after a pause in Iran strikes entered its third day.The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2% to 52,022.2 after midday Monday. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.7% to 24,809.9, and the S&P 500 declined 0.4% to 7,385.5.Energy and technology led decliners while communication services and consumer staples topped the gainers.Nvidia (NVDA) has agreed to expand its partnership with South Korean conglomerate SK Group through an artificial intelligence infrastructure initiative valued at more than $500 billion. The deal announced Saturday includes a long-term partnership between Nvidia and SK Hynix (SKHY) that will provide the US technology giant a stable supply of next-generation AI memory. Nvidia's shares dropped 5.1%, the Dow's steepest decliner. The SK Hynix stock plummeted 9.6%.VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), with net assets of $77.2 billion, slumped 3.7%.In geopolitical news, the US paused military attacks against Iran over the weekend, while Tehran also refrained from retaliatory action, according to a Commerzbank note. Meanwhile, Oman and Iran continued discussions on a transit arrangement for the Strait of Hormuz, with diplomats describing the negotiations as "moving in the right direction." Iranian officials likewise characterized the talks as "constructive."Mediators have achieved progress in getting the US and Iran back to negotiations, the Associated Press reported, citing regional officials. The two regional officials said mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan were working to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran to return to an interim ceasefire deal that had collapsed after the exchanges of fire, the news report said.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate sank 7.4% to $82.72 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent plunged 8% to $89.06 a barrel.Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year down 3.4 basis points to 4.65% and the two-year lower by 1.9 basis points to 4.31%.In precious metal markets, gold futures rose 0.4% to $4,087.1, and silver futures edged up 0.2% to $59.05.Further in company news, Forte Biosciences (FBRX) shares surged 40% after the company agreed to be acquired by Belgian-Dutch immunology firm argenx (ARGX) in a deal worth about $2.2 billion.Baker Hughes (BKR) shares jumped 6.6% after the company posted Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue that topped analysts' expectations.In economic news, new orders for US durable goods rose by 0.3% in June following a decline of 4.0% in May compared with the expectations for a larger increase of 1.8% in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Excluding a 0.2% decrease in transportation orders, new orders would have been up 0.6% in June after a 1.8% increase in May. Expectations were for a 0.8% gain.The Dallas Fed's monthly manufacturing index rose to 1.3 in July from zero in June, below expectations for a 2.0 print.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$ARGX$BKR$FBRX$NVDA$SKHY$SMH