Tech stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rising 2% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) climbing 4.8%.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor index popped 4.2%.
In corporate news, Microsoft-backed OpenAI (MSFT) is aiming for an initial public offering as soon as September that will value the company at more than $1 trillion, the Financial Times reported. Microsoft shares rose 0.7%.
Energy stocks were higher late Tuesday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.8% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 1.4%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was decreasing 0.3%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index rose 0.7%.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.8% at $107.77 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was shedding 0.6% to $111.39 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures rose 3.6% to $3.13 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, X-Energy (XE) can deploy about 20 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2040 underpinned by a solid technology value proposition, a capital-light business model, and commercial partnerships, Morgan Stanley said in a note. Morgan Stanley started coverage of the stock at overweight with a price target of $41. X-Energy shares gained 4%.Cenovus Energy's (CVE) addition of MEG Energy's Christina Lake asset to its portfolio late last year has created a huge in-situ oil sands complex which should yield synergistic development opportunities for decades to come, RBC Capital Markets said in a note. Cenovus shares rose 0.7%.Equinor (EQNR) shares climbed 2.8% after the firm said it has signed a five-year agreement with Dutch energy provider Eneco to supply natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf.BP (BP) maintained the lockout at its Whiting refinery in Indiana after failing to reach a deal with the United Steelworkers, Local 7-1, the company said. BP shares were up 1%.
Consumer stocks were mixed late Tuesday afternoon with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) increasing 0.2% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) shedding 1.1%.In sector news, Redbook US same-store sales last week rose 8.1% from a year earlier after a 9.6% increase in the previous week. "Coming off last-minute Mother's Day shopping on Sunday, sales and traffic slowed across the board in the middle of the week, but picked up during the weekend as graduation, BBQ season, and warm weather approached," Redbook said.In corporate news, Estee Lauder (EL) remains in talks with Puig over a potential business combination, though there's no announcement to make yet, Reuters reported, citing Estee Lauder CEO Stephane de La Faverie. Estee Lauder shares fell 5.4%.Home Depot (HD) reported fiscal Q1 results above market expectations despite consumer uncertainty, while the home improvement retailer reiterated its full-year outlook.The shares rose 0.7%.Wall Street banks started a debt sale on behalf of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) comprised of a $5 billion dollar loan and a 1 billion euro ($1.16 billion) loan, Bloomberg reported. Warner Bros. shares were little changed.Amer Sports (AS) raised its full-year guidance after the Finnish sports equipment company reported better-than-expected Q1 results. Amer shares climbed 1.8%.
Financial stocks were lower in late Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) shedding 1.1%.The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was up 0.2%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was decreasing 0.2% to $76,806, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 4.4 basis points to 4.667%.In economic news, US pending home sales increased more than expected last month as home buyers apparently shrugged off mounting economic uncertainty. The forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings increased 1.4% month over month in April, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Analysts expected a 1% gain, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg.In corporate news, Hanover Insurance (THG) shares fell 2.2% after BMO downgraded the company's stock to market perform from outperform.Blackstone (BX) shares were down 2.3% after Bloomberg reported Tuesday the company has dropped out of a consortium exploring a takeover of German media group Stroeer. Separately, Blackstone said late Monday it is forming a US-based joint venture with Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google to provide AI-focused data center capacity and cloud computing services. Blackstone said it will invest $5 billion in equity initially for the JV, which plans to bring its first 500 megawatts of capacity online in 2027 and expand further over time.Blue Owl (OWL) Co-Founder Doug Ostrover is selling his stake in the NFL's Washington Commanders back to the Josh Harris-led ownership group, Bloomberg reported. Blue Owl shares fell 1%.Lloyds Banking (LYG) is preparing to expand its US infrastructure financing business, including lending tied to the fast-growing data center sector, the Financial Times reported. The UK lender is aiming to build a US infrastructure bank focused on large construction projects and sectors such as green energy, while supporting UK corporate clients with US operations, the report said. Lloyds shares were fractionally lower.