Financial stocks were leaning lower pre-bell Monday, with the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) declining by 0.4%.
The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 1.1% and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 1.3% higher.
HDFC Bank (HDB) Chief Executive and Managing Director Sashidhar Jagdishan will retire Oct. 26, the company said. HDFC Bank stock was down more than 1% premarket.
Financial stocks rose Friday as the NYSE Financial Index and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) each gained 0.4%.The Philadelphia Housing Index climbed 0.6%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) fell 0.5%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell 3.3% to $77,629, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 4.8 basis points to 4.72%.In economic news, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said the central bank's primary focus should be on prices, given that the US is doing well on the employment front. Delivering his debut Jackson Hole speech as Fed chief, Warsh said inflation numbers were concerning. "The comparable measures from the consumer price index are also elevated, as are the core measures of both PCE and CPI inflation," Warsh said. "None of these measures are perfect, but they all tell a similar story: Inflation is running above our 2% target. So the Fed's predominant focus right now should be on prices."Separately, US consumer sentiment dropped in August amid concerns that inflation will continue to be high for the "foreseeable future," final results of a University of Michigan survey showed. The main sentiment index fell 6.3% to 51.7 from July. The gauge for current economic conditions dropped to 51.9 from 54.8, while the index of consumer expectations slid 7% to 51.5.In corporate news, Klarna (KLAR) shares rose 1.2% after a $9.95 million share purchase by CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski.PayPal (PYPL) shares fell 13% after Bloomberg reported that Advent and Stripe abandoned their $50 billion takeover bid.Affirm (AFRM) shares rose 0.4%, paring earlier gains a day after the company reported a surge in fiscal Q4 earnings and sales and issued an upbeat fiscal Q1 sales outlook.UBS (UBS) raised 2 billion yuan ($297.5 million) via its debut panda bond in China's onshore market, highlighting growing demand among international issuers for lower borrowing costs, Bloomberg reported. UBS shares rose 1%.
Healthcare stocks were lower late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) each shedding about 0.4%.The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) fell 2.7%.In corporate news, BioNTech (BNTX) said it terminated its phase 2 trial evaluating autogene cevumeran as an adjuvant monotherapy in people with colorectal cancer. The trial's independent safety board recommended discontinuing treatment and ending the trial, as further continuation was unlikely to change the efficacy outcome, the company said. Shares fell 8%.Eli Lilly (LLY) said the US Food and Drug Administration approved Mounjaro to lower the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for those events. Lilly shares were down 0.9%.10x Genomics (TXG) said a Delaware federal jury awarded the company more than $4.8 million after finding that three patents held through its Scale Biosciences unit were infringed by Parse Biosciences, a subsidiary of Qiagen (QGEN). 10x Genomics shares were down 5.2%, and Qiagen was shedding 1.3%.Quoin Pharmaceuticals (QNRX) reported "positive" interim data from its ongoing phase 2/3 study of QRX003 in patients with netherton syndrome, and also a private placement financing of up to $50.0 million. Shares surged 18%.
Energy stocks were mixed late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index easing 0.1% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) increasing 0.6%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index added 1%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index was falling 1.2%.In geopolitical news, mediators in the Iran war are stepping up efforts to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, with Tehran agreeing to draw up a list of conditions to restore normal traffic after a Qatari emissary pressed the Iranians to respect freedom of navigation, Reuters reported.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 0.2% to $83.40 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract shed 0.4% to $89.31 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures fell 1.4% to $2.87 per 1 million BTU.In sector news, Venezuela is considering leaving OPEC as it deepens ties with the US, Bloomberg reported. The idea has been discussed with US officials, though no final decision has been made, according to the report. The potential exit comes as Washington takes greater control of Venezuela's oil sales and negotiates a possible stake in the country's oil fields, Bloomberg said. Venezuela produced 1.16 million barrels a day in July, according to a Bloomberg survey, with output rising this year. Bloomberg said Venezuela's departure would likely have little immediate impact on global oil markets given its diminished production, but may raise fresh questions about OPEC's cohesion and its ability to influence crude prices.In corporate news, Chevron (CVX) is nearing a deal to expand its operations in Venezuela by adding two new heavy-oil fields to its portfolio, The Wall Street Journal reported. Halliburton (HAL) is also in talks to provide its equipment to oil producers in Venezuela, the report said. Chevron shares rose 1%, and Halliburton gained nearly 2%.Evolution Petroleum (EPM) shares rose 2% after Northland upgraded the company to outperform from market perform.BW LPG (BWLP) shares fell 2.1% after it reported lower Q2 revenue.AES (AES) shares were down 0.2%. The company said late Thursday it has secured approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US for its pending merger with Horizon Parent and Horizon Merger Sub.