Consumer stocks were mixed pre-bell Monday, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) slightly lower and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) marginally advancing.
GameStop (GME) Chief Executive Ryan Cohen is considering pulling the company's $56 billion bid for eBay (EBAY), Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of GameStop were up more than 3%, while eBay stock was down more than 1% premarket.
Financial stocks were softer in late Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index fractionally lower and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) down 0.3%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was rising 2.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) increased 0.4%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) added 1% to $64,899, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries fell 1 basis point to 4.66%.In economic news, US employment unexpectedly fell in July amid a marked decline in government payrolls, prompting interest rate traders to scale back their bets on potential monetary policy tightening in September. Nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 last month, marking the first decline since February, following a downwardly revised gain of 20,000 in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. The consensus was for an 80,000 increase in July, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey.The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping its target rate unchanged at 3.5%-3.75% in September surged to 56% on Friday from 45% a day ago and 33% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.In sector news, Jane Street is negotiating with investors including Pacific Investment Management Co. to refinance its roughly $11 billion debt load into a private-credit vehicle that could total as much as $15 billion, Bloomberg reported.In corporate news, TPG (TPG) and Redfearn Capital have partnered to buy 53 industrial buildings valued at $628 million from DRA Advisors, Bloomberg reported. TPG shares were up 0.8%.KKR-backed (KKR) Executive Centre is seeking a $500 million unitranche loan to refinance debt and fund capital spending, Bloomberg reported. KKR shares were down 0.6%.Apollo Global Management (APO) and KKR received approval from European regulators to take joint control of Atlantic Aviation, the European Commission said. Apollo shares decreased 0.6%.Voya Financial (VOYA) said Friday it is seeking regulatory intervention against Toms Capital Investment Management as it advised shareholders that there is no upcoming stockholders meeting and there are no matters for shareholders to vote on. The company said Toms Capital's recent actions are "manipulative and deceptive." Voya shares were down 0.1%.
Energy stocks were lower late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling 1.1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) dropping 1.3%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was shedding 1.4%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 0.8%.In geopolitical news, Iranian lawmakers are debating the wording of a proposed deal with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz, with President Donald Trump insisting an agreement is getting closer, Bloomberg reported. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said earlier this week that an understanding with Oman had been reached "in principle," and state TV cited one lawmaker on Friday as saying the final text and details of an agreement with Muscat will be announced "soon," according to the news report.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil slid 0.5% to $76.92 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract fell 0.7% to $81.95 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures gained 1% to $2.67 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, Vistra's (VST) shares were down 0.3% after it reported Q2 results that fell short of consensus expectations.Calumet (CLMT) shares fell 6% after the company reported Friday it narrowed its Q2 loss to $1.09 per basic share, from a loss of $1.70 a year earlier. Analysts expected earnings of $0.07.Oklo (OKLO) shares jumped past 14% after it posted better-than-expected revenue for Q2.Energy Vault (NRGV) shares surged 17% after it said Friday it signed an agreement to deploy 1.25 gigawatts of integrated power infrastructure for hyperscaler AI data centers, with the initial deployment backed by a customer contract in Texas.
Tech stocks were higher late Friday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rising 1.2% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) climbing 4.2%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index added 2%.In corporate news, Microchip Technology's (MCHP) strong fiscal Q1 results were buoyed by better cyclical trends and structural tailwinds from its data center and aerospace and defense segments, Morgan Stanley said in a Friday note. Microchip shares jumped 13.3%.Cloudflare (NET) shares gained nearly 5% after the cloud and cybersecurity company lifted its full-year outlook following better-than-expected Q2 results.Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI is slowing down development of its new Astra model and is scaling up testing because it cannot "rule out critical cyber capabilities," Axios reported. Microsoft shares were up 0.3%.Trade Desk (TTD) shares fell more than 21% following stock rating downgrades from multiple brokerages, including Citigroup. Trade Desk released disappointing Q2 results late Thursday.