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Sector Update: Financial Stocks Edge Higher Friday Afternoon

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Financial stocks were slightly higher in Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index up 0.1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) adding 0.2%.

The Philadelphia Housing Index was slightly lower, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 0.4%.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was falling 3% to $62,832, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries climbed 7.4 basis points to 4.737%.

In economic news, a survey conducted by the University of Michigan showed respondents expect a 4.2% inflation rate over the next year, down from 4.6% in June, and 3.3% annual inflation over the next five years, in line with a month ago. The Federal Reserve has remained above its 2% inflation target for more than five years.

In sector news, Leopold Aschenbrenner's hedge fund, Situational Awareness, is unwinding its public stock positions after losses on AI infrastructure investments and short bets against software stocks, CNBC reported. The fund's prime brokers have been raising cash to meet margin requirements, while Citadel agreed to buy its publicly traded assets, the report said. Situational Awareness had grown to about $45 billion at the start of July before the losses, the report said.

In corporate news, Apollo Global Management (APO) and KKR (KKR) are facing increased scrutiny from US insurance regulators over fast-growing multi-asset securitization structures that officials say could pose transparency and "circular ownership" risks, the Financial Times reported. Apollo shares were up 3.6%, and KKR was shedding 0.2%.

Coinbase (COIN) shares fell past 9% after it reported a Q2 loss late Thursday of $1.36 per diluted share, swinging from earnings of $5.14 a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of $0.44. Revenue for the quarter was $1.22 billion, down from $1.5 billion a year earlier, and missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion.

HSBC (HSBC) said Friday it expects to incur $300 million in restructuring costs and write-offs following its decision to sell its Australian home loans and personal loans portfolio and wind down the remainder of the retail business in the country over the next 18 months. Separately, HSBC has held early talks to transfer billions of pounds of assets from its UK pension scheme to insurers after being approached by potential buyers, Bloomberg reported. HSBC shares were down 0.4%.

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Sector Update: Energy Stocks Higher Late Afternoon

Energy stocks advanced late Thursday afternoon with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.8% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.5%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index advanced 2.5%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index fell 0.6%.Late Wednesday, the US Central Command forces completed a "heavy wave" of strikes against Iran in response to Tuesday's attempted missile attacks on US forces, according to CENTCOM. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted US bases in Kuwait and Jordan following Washington's strikes on Iran, Al Jazeera, a Middle East broadcaster, reported, citing the IRGC.West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 0.9% to $83.71 a barrel, and global benchmark Brent fell 1.8% to $89.09 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 0.8% to $2.75 per 1 million BTU.US natural gas stocks rose by 28 billion cubic feet in the week ended July 24, a smaller rise than the 35 billion cubic foot increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following an increase of 32 billion cubic feet in the previous week.In corporate news, Shell (SHEL) shares gained 2.7% after the company reported Q2 results that beat consensus estimates.Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and other big oil companies are vying for Venezuela's choicest drilling spots, but talks with Venezuelan officials have recently hit an impasse, preventing them from making big moves, The Wall Street Journal reported. Exxon shares were up 0.4%, and Chevron added 0.3%.BP (BP) intends to cut around 700 non-frontline jobs from its global workforce, Reuters reported Thursday, citing an internal email it viewed. BP shares rose 2.1%.GE Vernova (GEV) is investing $166 million to expand its operations in Western Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger said Thursday. GE Vernova shares rose past 8%.Emera (EMA) received final approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for the sale of New Mexico Gas to Bernhard Capital Partners in a $1.25 billion deal. Emera shares were up 0.2%.

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Sectors

Sector Update: Financial Stocks Advance Late Afternoon

Financial stocks were higher in late Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index rising 1.1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) up 0.5%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 1.5%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was increasing 1.3% to $64,746, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 4.1 basis points to 4.663%.In economic news, the US personal consumption expenditure price index fell 0.1% month over month in June, marking the first decline since April 2020, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. That helped cut the year-over-year rate to 3.7% from 4.1%.US real gross domestic product increased at a 1.5% annualized rate in the quarter ended June, according to an advance government estimate released Thursday. The consensus was for 2% growth in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.In corporate news, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) agreed to buy electronic trading platform MarketAxess (MKTX) for about $6 billion, creating a powerhouse that aims to serve "every segment of the fixed income market." Intercontinental shares rose 1.2%, and MarketAxess surged 29%.Goldman Sachs (GS) Asset Management has launched AlphaAI, an AI investing platform to drive returns in public and private market businesses, Reuters reported. Goldman shares climbed 4.9%.A Morgan Stanley-led (MS) group of banks is in talks to lend $15 billion to a data-center developer to build a campus and power plant for Anthropic in Texas, The Wall Street Journal reported. Morgan Stanley shares rose 3.8%.Mastercard (MA) reported better-than-expected Q2 results on Thursday, buoyed by double-digit growth in cross-border volume and healthy spending. Its shares rose 2.6%.Blue Owl Capital's (OWL) data center firm Stack Infrastructure is seeking a syndicated loan of 8.5 billion Australian dollars ($5.9 billion) to back its third data center project in Melbourne, Bloomberg reported. Blue Owl shares rose 6.2%.

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Sectors

Sector Update: Consumer Stocks Mixed Late Afternoon

Consumer stocks were mixed late Thursday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) falling 2.2% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) adding 1%.In corporate news, Crocs (CROX) shares fell past 7% after the footwear maker issued downbeat Q3 earnings guidance, while its Q2 results topped Wall Street's estimates.Steven Madden (SHOO) shares were up over 8% after it reported better-than-expected Q2 results and raised its fiscal 2026 outlook.Yum Brands (YUM) reported stronger-than-expected Q2 earnings Thursday, while revenue fell short as a recent food-safety issue weighed on demand at Taco Bell. Yum Brands shares gained 3.5%.Altria (MO) shares fell past 9% after it reported Q2 adjusted earnings that missed analysts' expectations.

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