JETS, AIRL Rise on Airline News; SPY, QQQ Dip

The U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) rose nearly 1.7% after United Airlines stock climbed 2.7%. United airlines struck a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer satellite-based Starlink WiFi service on flights within the next few years.

The Themes ETF Trust - Themes Airlines ETF (AIRL) gained 1.5% following news that the Biden administration is allowing Alaska Airlines to complete its $1 billion purchase of Hawaiian Airlines. The carriers agreed to maintain current service on routes between Hawaii and the mainland U.S. where they face little competition.

The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) fell nearly 0.2% following AT&T’s agreement to pay $13 million to settle a U.S. Federal Communications Commission investigation. The probe concerned whether AT&T failed to protect consumer data stolen in a cloud vendor hack last year.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) closed up around 0.1%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) fell by the same amount Tuesday. Investors expressed uncertainty over the size of the Federal Reserve’s expected rate cut, scheduled to be announced Wednesday.

The CBOE Volatility Index tracking ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY) rose nearly 3%. 

Cryptocurrency ETFs jumped Tuesday, becoming the top gainers in midday trading. IBIT, the IShares Bitcoin Trust rose more than 5.25% while GBTC, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF jumped 5.3%. The two funds are the two largest spot bitcoin ETFs by assets, according to etf.com data. 

After spending much of this month below $60,000, bitcoin's price has recently rallied above this threshold as investors have piled back into the trade in advance of the Fed's rate cuts. According to CoinMarketCap, the price of the cryptocurrency now sits at roughly $61,000.

Leveraged bitcoin ETFs were the biggest fund gainers on Tuesday, according to etf.com data. BTFX, the Valkyrie Bitcoin Futures Leveraged Strategy ETF soared nearly 11% by midday trading. BITX, the Volatility Shares 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF jumped 10.75% with more than 5 million in trading volume. 

BITU and BTCL, the ProShares Ultra Bitcoin ETF and T-Rex 2X Long Bitcoin Daily Target ETF both notched more than 10% gains.

Ethereum ETFs also rose in sympathy; ETHT, the ProShares Ultra Ether ETF rose just under 9%.

Broad market stock ETFs slipped by midday; SPY, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust slid into the red while DIA, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust hovered around the flatline. Tech-heavy QQQ, the Invesco QQQ Trust also fell into the red. 

U.S. retail sales data, representing the final report to drop ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve Board meeting, came in Tuesday morning slightly ahead of expectations, and pushed equity ETFs higher in midday trading.

Retail sales, which are closely watched as an indicator of economic strength, rose 0.1% in August, compared to economists’ expectations for a 0.2% decrease.

Major stock market benchmarks the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) both opened solidly in positive territory as the retail sales data sent another question mark over how much the Fed will decide to cut rates.

While consensus estimates favor a 50-basis point cut over a 25-basis point cut, the strong retail sales data may auger the smaller reduction.

The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) jumped 1.4%. XRT is up just 5.2% from the start of the year and is up more than 23% over the trailing 12 months.