QQQ pares its opening gain to 0.41% but leads SPY as Hormuz traffic thins and AI financing broadens

QQQ rose 0.41% and SPY 0.20%, leaving QQQ 0.21 percentage points ahead after both pared opening gains. Consumer confidence missed estimates, while Boston Fed President Susan Collins said a near-term rate increase could be appropriate without sustained disinflation. OpenAI's Jalapeno benchmark kept AI-chip competition in view during regular trading. Overnight, Hormuz traffic was reported at 5 commercial vessels versus a 10-day average of 15, while SoftBank weighed as much as $20 billion of bonds to refinance OpenAI investment loans and Korean memory makers planned more Nvidia HBM4 supply.