Consumer stocks were mixed premarket Wednesday, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) up 0.5% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) 0.2% lower.
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) shares were up more than 11% after the company posted higher fiscal Q2 adjusted net income and net sales, and raised its 2026 outlook.
Financial stocks were edging higher late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.2% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 0.1%.The Philadelphia Housing Index increased 0.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) advanced 0.1%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was shedding 0.3% to $78,919, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries dropped 7.9 basis points to 4.63%.In economic news, US consumer confidence fell in August amid a decline in the expectations index, with a "more pessimistic" outlook for business conditions and the labor market ahead, the Conference Board said Tuesday. The consumer confidence index fell to 89.4 this month from July's reading of 90.2, which was the consensus in a Bloomberg survey.In corporate news, UBS (UBS) is expanding its efforts to offer customers deposits with Middle East lenders to take advantage of higher regional savings rates, Bloomberg reported. UBS shares rose 1.1%.Apollo Global Management (APO), KKR (KKR) and IFM Investors are the finalists for a majority stake in Associated British Ports, the UK's largest port operator, Bloomberg reported. Apollo shares rose 0.3%, and KKR was up 0.2%.Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google Cloud said Tuesday it has launched a new agentic AI service for financial professionals, with Deutsche Bank (DB) and CME (CME) among those firms granted early access. Deutsche shares rose 1.6%, and CME was down 0.7%.Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) shares jumped past 7% after it reported better-than-expected Q3 results.
Energy stocks fell Tuesday with the NYSE Energy Sector Index declining 1.1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) dropping 1.7%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index shed 0.6%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 0.1%.In geopolitical news, Iran pledged to fight back against expanded US sanctions aimed at isolating its economy, expressing confidence that major trading partners would resist the pressure campaign and saying that Washington was keen to revive talks, Reuters reported.West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3.2% to $82.28 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent dropped 4% to $88.53 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.3% to $2.84 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, SLB (SLB) has received access to Venezuela's oilfield data following a contract signed between the company and the state-run Petroleos de Venezuela, Reuters reported. SLB shares declined 1.3%.Shell (SHEL) put its Aphrodite offshore gas project in Trinidad and Tobago on hold following commercial disagreements with the country's National Gas Co., Reuters reported. The shares eased 0.5%.Eni (E) is working with project partners BP (BP) and Egyptian Petroleum to reach a final investment decision in a few months regarding the major gas discovery Denise West in Egypt's Temsah concession. Eni shares fell 2.1%, and BP shed 2%.NuScale Power (SMR) shares jumped 8.2%. The company is deploying nuclear-specific AI tools from Nuclearn and NPX to support engineering and knowledge management as it advances its next-generation SMR program.
Healthcare stocks rose late Tuesday afternoon with the NYSE Healthcare Index and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) each adding 0.4%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) climbed 1.7%.In sector news, the US Department of Health and Human Services is planning to create two deputy commissioner roles at the Food and Drug Administration to focus on technology and drugs, respectively, CNBC reported Tuesday. Specifically, the technology deputy commissioner role would focus on the intersection of health and AI, the report said. HHS officials would appoint the new deputies in what some within the Trump administration view as an attempt to wield greater influence over the agency, CNBC reported.In corporate news, McKesson (MCK) agreed to buy Precision Medicine Group for $2.25 billion as part of the drug distributor's efforts to boost its clinical research and commercialization services. McKesson shares rose 3.1%.Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL) shares surged 14% after the company's fiscal Q3 swung to profits.Kura Oncology (KURA) shares jumped past 9% in Tuesday trading, a day after a regulatory filing showed CEO Troy Wilson purchased 100,000 shares at a weighted average price of $12.39.Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) shares added 1.8% after the company said the US Food and Drug Administration approved two of its Ziihera-containing regimens to treat adults with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer.