Financial stocks were advancing pre-bell Monday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.1%.
The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 0.3% higher and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was down 0.2%.
Aegon (AEG) shares were up more than 1% after the company said it has increased its H2 share buyback program by 150 million euros ($174.9 million) to 350 million euros, effective Monday.
Financial stocks advanced in late Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) each adding 1%.The Philadelphia Housing Index increased 0.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was slightly higher.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) popped 6.1% to $77,144, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 3.8 basis points to 4.74%.In economic news, Bureau of Labor Statistics data revealed that the unemployment rate fell in 10 US States in July and remained steady elsewhere. The largest unemployment rate declines were observed in South Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Washington, Pennsylvania, New York, and Rhode Island. The national unemployment rate was reported at 4.1% in July, down from 4.2% in June.The August flash reading of manufacturing conditions from S&P Global fell to 53.2 from 53.9 in July, compared with expectations for no change in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The index for services conditions rose to 56.8 in August from 54.6 in July, compared with expectations for a decrease to 54.In corporate news, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has sued former Bank of America (BAC) investment banker Jason Satsky for tipping insider information to a friend, who allegedly made $18.5 million in illegal profits, Bloomberg reported. Satsky, who previously worked as Bank of America's head of energy and power infrastructure banking, tipped Gavin Wolfe about an acquisition proposal for South Jersey Industries in Nov. 2021, the report said. Bank of America shares were down 0.2%.Apollo Global Management (APO) said in a letter Friday that a social-engineering attack targeted some cloud platforms between July 6 and July 10, resulting in a data breach. The company said information potentially impacted by the incident included names, dates of birth, contact information, home addresses, and Social Security numbers. Apollo shares were up 2%.Goldman Sachs (GS) is gaining ground in India's government share-sale market, securing mandates for five of the 10 major transactions since the latest divestment wave began in December, Bloomberg reported. Goldman shares rose 3.6%.KKR (KKR), alongside Dragoneer Investment and insurance distributor Amwins, has agreed to buy Steadfast in a deal worth about 7.7 billion Australian dollars ($5.52 billion), the Australian insurance broking giant said Friday. KKR shares added 1.6%.
Energy stocks were mixed late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index slightly lower and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) fractionally higher.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was up 0.1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index declined 2.2%.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.1% to $86.90 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract increased 0.4% to $94.13 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 0.8% to $2.76 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, GE Vernova (GEV) said Friday that it was selected by Quinbrook for the third stage of the Supernode battery energy storage project in Queensland, Australia, expanding its role across all three stages of the development. GE Vernova shares were shedding 0.8%.A German regulator found a carbon credits project funded by an Exxon Mobil (XOM) unit to be suspicious, possibly faking or overstating its environmental impact, Bloomberg reported, citing a report from the German Environment Agency. Exxon shares were down 0.7%.Petrobras (PBR) shares added 0.6% after it said Friday that it has entered direct negotiations for exploration contracts covering four offshore blocks in Ghana's Keta Basin after the country's Ministry of Energy and Green Transition approved its application.TotalEnergies (TTE) and CMA CGM received European Commission approval to create a joint venture focused on liquefied natural gas bunkering logistics services, the Commission said Friday. TotalEnergies shares were down 0.8%.Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP) shares were down 0.2%. The company said late Thursday it is planning to issue 750 million Canadian dollars ($545 million) of green bonds.
Healthcare stocks were higher late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index rising 1.3% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) adding 1.4%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) gained 1.5%.In corporate news, Jupiter Neurosciences (JUNS) shares surged past 16% after it said it priced a direct offering of 307,692 shares for gross proceeds of $2 million.Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) shares rose 1.3% after the firm said Friday Tecvayli plus daratumumab has been approved by the European Commission to treat adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) shares jumped past 9% after the firm said it plans to launch a tender offer to repurchase up to $230 million of its shares at between $5.00 and $5.75 per share.Health Catalyst (HCAT) shares fell 4.6% after Canaccord Genuity downgraded the stock to hold from buy and cut its price target to $1.80 from $3.