Financial stocks were steady pre-bell Friday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) flat.
The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) fell by 0.1%, and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was flat.
Affirm (AFRM) shares were up more than 11% after the company reported overnight a surge in fiscal Q4 earnings and revenue, and issued an upbeat fiscal Q1 revenue outlook.
Consumer stocks declined late Thursday afternoon with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) falling 1.4% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) dropping 1.1%.In corporate news, Hormel Foods (HRL) lowered its fiscal 2026 sales outlook after reporting mixed Q3 results with sales falling amid soft consumer demand. The stock slumped 10%.Celsius Holdings (CELH) shares fell 6.1% after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to hold from buy and raised its price target to $35 from $30.Dollar General (DG) and Dollar Tree (DLTR) raised their full-year earnings outlooks as the discount retailers' earnings benefited from tariff refunds in fiscal Q2. Dollar General shares rose 2.9%, and Dollar Tree fell 3.2%.Unilever (UL) hired Rothschild to market its 212-year-old Colman's mustard brand as it seeks to address potential competition concerns from the planned combination of its food business with McCormick (MKC), Sky News reported. Unilever shares fell 0.7%.
Healthcare stocks fell late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index down 1.2% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) shedding 1%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was down 0.1%.In corporate news, Moderna (MRNA) shares dropped 5% after the firm said it plans to offer $2 billion worth of convertible senior notes due 2032 in a private placement.HealthEquity (HQY) shares fell past 10% after the company posted fiscal Q2 results.Novo Nordisk (NVO) said China's National Medical Products Administration has accepted its marketing application for the oral version of its weight-loss drug Wegovy, Reuters reported. Shares were down 2%.NeoGenomics (NEO) shares jumped past 7% after the company said its RaDaR ST molecular residual disease assay received expanded Medicare coverage to include immunotherapy response monitoring for patients with late-stage solid tumors.
Financial stocks were lower in late Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index shedding 0.4% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) off 0.7%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.2%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was down 0.8%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was rising 2% to $80,007, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was one basis point higher at 4.67%.In economic news, the advance international trade in goods deficit widened to $118.81 billion in July from $101.41 billion in June, according to data released by the US Census Bureau. This was a wider gap than the $100.5 billion deficit expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.US initial jobless claims fell to 203,000 in the week ended Aug. 22 from an upwardly revised 207,000 in the previous week, in contrast with expectations for an increase to 208,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.In corporate news, Bank of America (BAC), UBS (UBS), and UniCredit are working with private aviation firm Vista Global on a potential initial public offering in Europe that could raise over $1 billion, Bloomberg reported. Bank of America shares were down 1.5%, and UBS was shedding 0.3%.JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are clashing over pending changes to the Federal Reserve's capital surcharge on global systemically important banks, or GSIB, Reuters reported. The Federal Reserve proposed changes to the surcharge in March, including revised policies on short-term wholesale funding, to make the levy more risk-sensitive, the report said. Sources said JPMorgan and Bank of America argued that the proposal would benefit rivals Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, Reuters reported. JPMorgan shares were down 0.7%, Goldman shed 0.2%, and Morgan Stanley advanced 0.3%.Enbridge (ENB) has entered into a definitive agreement with KKR (KKR) to form a joint venture that will invest about $2.7 billion Canadian dollars ($1.94 billion) to fund the expansion of the Aspen Point and Sunrise programs on the Westcoast natural gas pipeline system, the company said Thursday. Separately, KKR has agreed to settle for $250 million a US Department of Justice lawsuit accusing the firm of repeatedly violating federal pre-merger filing rules, the regulator said Wednesday. KKR shares rose 0.7%.Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) shares climbed 1.6% after the company reported higher fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue.