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Sector Update: Consumer

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Consumer stocks were lower Monday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) dropping 1.4% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) falling 1.1%.

In corporate news, JetBlue Airways' (JBLU) balance sheet woes could worsen as the Strait of Hormuz appears unlikely to reopen anytime soon, potentially prolonging jet fuel volatility, Seaport Research Partners said. Seaport downgraded its rating on the JetBlue stock to neutral from buy and withdrew its price target, just months after upgrading the stock on the assumption that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen. JetBlue shares were down 5.8%.

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Sector Update: Energy Stocks Rise Friday

Energy stocks rose Friday with the NYSE Energy Sector Index gaining 1.3% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.4%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index climbed 2.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index advanced 0.3%.West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.4% to $82.41 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent advanced 1.7% to $88.53 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures eased 0.3% to $2.72 per 1 million BTU.Transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to grind to a near standstill on Friday after two more ships were attacked at the chokepoint, Reuters reported. Abu Dhabi's national oil company said its vessels were attacked Thursday evening, and that the government of the United Arab Emirates blamed Iran, which made no immediate comment, the report said.In corporate news, Energy Transfer's (ET) Green Chile Project pipeline, a New Mexico natural gas project that would supply power-generation systems for a planned Oracle (ORCL) data center, has been delayed and is now expected to enter service next year, Bloomberg reported. Energy Transfer shares rose 1.4%.Phillips 66 (PSX) and Marathon Petroleum (MPC) held discussions earlier this year over a potential combination that would have created a company valued at $180 billion, Semafor reported. Phillips 66 shares rose 0.4%, and Marathon fell 0.3%.Shell (SHEL) lost a legal battle with environmental activists over an oil exploration campaign off South Africa's Wild Coast, Bloomberg reported. Shell shares rose 1.5%.Diversified Energy (DEC) is in preliminary talks to acquire Birch Resources, which operates in the Permian Basin, Reuters reported. Diversified Energy shares rose 1.1%.

$DEC$ET$MPC$PSX$SHEL
Sectors

Sector Update: Financial Stocks Edge Lower Late Afternoon

Financial stocks were slightly lower in late Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) each fractionally lower.The Philadelphia Housing Index shed 0.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) rose 0.3%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was falling 1% to $63,042, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 5.5 basis points to 4.696%.In economic news, retail sales slid 0.6% in July amid declines in spending on motor vehicles and at gas stations, following a 0.2% increase in June, the Census Bureau reported Friday. The consensus was for 0.1% growth, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg.The probability of the Federal Reserve extending its policy pause to September jumped to almost 70% by Friday afternoon, from 56% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool, building on gains after data this week showed headline and core consumer and wholesale price inflation rates declined year over year in July.The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 51.0 in August from 55.2 in July, below expectations for a much smaller decrease to 55.0 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.In corporate news, International Money Express (IMXI) shares jumped past 23% after Western Union's (WU) pending acquisition of the company received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services, with Western Union agreeing to certain commitments related to remittance services and locations. Western Union shares were down 1.2%.T. Rowe Price (TROW) CEO Rob Sharps has predicted that it will take another couple of years to reverse the outflows amid passive competition, the Financial Times reported. The company is considering options like acquisitions in growth areas in a bid to ease the ongoing strain and return to positive flows faster, the report said, citing an interview with Sharps. T. Rowe Price shares were down 0.9%.JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has cut off banking access for prediction-market platform Polymarket over regulatory concerns, the Financial Times reported. The FT said the move comes as US regulators, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, maintain scrutiny of prediction markets. JPMorgan shares were shedding 0.1%.Goldman Sachs (GS) is courting investors to partake in Nvidia's (NVDA) $500 billion AI financing initiative, Reuters reported. Among the potential investors are insurers, money managers, and banks along with asset managers, the report said. Goldman shares were down 0.2%.

$GS$IMXI$JPM$TROW$WU
Sectors

Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Decline Late Afternoon

Healthcare stocks were lower late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index decreasing 0.4% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) shedding 0.5%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) lost 0.5%.In corporate news, Luigi Mangione is expected to plead guilty to federal charges related to the killing of former UnitedHealth (UNH) executive Brian Thompson, according to his lawyer, multiple media outlets reported Friday. UnitedHealth shares were up 0.8%.Valneva (VALN) shares jumped 25% after the company and Pfizer (PFE) said the European Medicines Agency validated their marketing authorization application for their Lyme disease vaccine candidate, starting the regulatory review process. Pfizer shares were fractionally lower.Eton Pharmaceuticals (ETON) shares surged 41%. The company late Thursday reported Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue above market expectations and raised full-year 2026 sales guidance.Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (ZNTL) shares fell past 12% in Friday trading, a day after the company priced an offering of 23 million shares at $3.50 each, targeting about $80.5 million in gross proceeds.

$ETON$PFE$UNH$VALN$ZNTL
Sector Update: Consumer | FINWIRES