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Sector Update: Energy

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Energy stocks were advancing pre-bell Friday, with the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) up 0.7%.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 1.9% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.5% higher.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was 2.6% higher at $103.89 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil rose 2.1% to $107.95 per barrel, and natural gas futures were up 2.2% at $2.96 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) was found not liable by a Texas jury in a lawsuit accusing the oil major of misleading investors about its Canadian oil sands and Rocky Mountain gas operations, Reuters reported. Exxon Mobil stock was 0.2% higher premarket.

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Sector Update: Tech Stocks Fall Premarket Friday

Technology stocks were falling premarket Friday, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) down 2.2% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) 4.1% lower.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) plans to sell a significant stake, comprising 152 million shares or around an 8.1% interest, in Vanguard International Semiconductor, the company said. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were down more than 2% pre-bell.Sandisk (SNDK) is advising shareholders to reject an unsolicited mini-tender offer from Tutanota to purchase up to 100,000 shares of the company's common stock at $1,150 per share, the company said. Sandisk stock was down more than 2% premarket.POET Technologies (POET) shares were down more than 14% after the company reported that it swung to a Q1 loss.

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Sector Update: Financial

Financial stocks were leaning lower pre-bell Friday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) declining by 0.1%.The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 0.7% lower and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was up 0.8%.HSBC (HSBC) has yet to deploy the $4 billion it previously committed to its private credit strategy, with no current timeline for the planned investment, the Financial Times reported, citing two sources familiar with the decision-making process. HSBC shares were down 2.9% premarket.

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Oil Prices Rise on Fading Hopes for a Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices rose early on Friday on fading hopes for the United States and Iran will reach a deal that will re-open the Strait of the Hormuz as the U.S.-China summit meeting ended with mixed messages on ending the war on Iran.West Texas Intermediate crude oil for June delivery was last seen up US$3.48 to US$104.65 per barrel, while July Brent oil was up US$2.71 to US$108.43.A summit meeting between U.S. President Trump and Xi Jinping, Trump's Chinese counterpart, ended with mixed messages from Trump on the war on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported. The paper said Trump told Fox News the United States does not need to see the Strait reopen, then told reporters both he and Xi want to see the Iran war come to an end, while also saying the Strait needs to to be open as soon a possible."Both sides aligned on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The US readout connected China's energy import needs to the energy disruptions due to the conflict in Iran. Even though the Chinese statement did not even mention energy, China's foreign minister before the start of the second day of the summit called for the reopening of the Strait. Indeed, weeks before the summit, President Xi had already called for a comprehensive ceasefire that would allow normal passage of vessels," Eugenia Victorino, Head of Asia Strategy at SEB Research, noted.Iran closed the Strait to most traffic at the Feb. 28 start to the war launched by the United States and Israel, stranding hundreds of ships in the Persian Gulf and blocking 20% of daily oil demand supplied by regional nations.The blockade of the Strait has pushed oil prices up by half since the start of the war, leaving Asian nations scrambling for physical supply and boosting inflation, raising concerns central banks will need to raise interest rates to cut demand.Hopes for further talks between Iran and the United States continue, with The Guardian reporting Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said that U.S. contacted Iran "to say that they were seeking to continue talks, and that his country (is) prepared to pursue either a diplomatic or militaristic route in order to end the conflict".

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