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FINWIRES

Texas Attorney General Investigates Big Music Streaming Platforms Over Potential Bribery Scheme

-- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into streaming platforms, including Spotify (SPOT), Apple's (AAPL) Apple Music, Amazon's (AMZN) Amazon Music and Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) YouTube Music over an alleged scheme in which the platforms accept bribes to artificially promote certain artists, songs or content, according to a statement from Paxton's office.

The companies didn't immediately reply to requests for comment from.

Price: $518.72, Change: $-3.72, Percent Change: -0.71%

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Sector Update: Tech Stocks Mixed Late Afternoon

Tech stocks were mixed late Thursday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) falling 1.7% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) rising 1.3%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index added 0.9%.In corporate news, Meta Platforms (META) plans to eliminate roughly 8,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, in an attempt to boost efficiency and offset significant spending on AI, Bloomberg reported, citing a memo the company sent to employees. Meta shares were down 2.3%.IBM (IBM) shares fell past 8% after its quarterly results. Software growth decelerated to 8% in constant currency from 11% in Q4 and 9% in Q3, a "potential red flag for the bears," CFRA said in a note late Wednesday.ServiceNow (NOW) reported strong Q1 results, but softer organic revenue trends and a slightly weaker margin outlook weighed on its overall forecast, Oppenheimer said in a note. Its shares tumbled past 17%.Texas Instruments (TXN) shares jumped past 18% after it posted higher Q1 earnings and revenue and set out Q2 guidance above consensus.

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Sector Update: Energy

Energy stocks were higher late Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) each adding 0.7%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index gained 0.9%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index climbed 2.7%.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil was rising 3.6% to $96.32 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract was advancing 3.6% to $105.54 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures added 1% to $2.67 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, NextEra Energy (NEE) shares jumped past 7%. The company reported Q1 adjusted earnings Thursday of $1.09 per diluted share, up from $0.99 a year earlier, and also above the average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet.

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Sector Update: Financial

Financial stocks were lower in late Thursday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index down 0.6% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) falling 0.7%.The Philadelphia Housing Index rose 0.9%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) added 1.1%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was decreasing 0.4% to $77,852, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 2.9 basis points to 4.32%.In corporate news, American Express (AXP) shares were down 4.8% even after the payments giant reported better-than-expected Q1 results and reiterated its full-year outlook.

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