QQQ gives up an early gain and trails SPY with Hammack rate remarks and Hormuz attacks in view

By 04:00 ET, QQQ was down 0.98% and SPY 0.16%, leaving SPY ahead by 0.82 percentage points. QQQ gave back a premarket rise and weakened through regular and after-hours trading. Hammack favored smaller, more frequent rate hikes, while Hormuz tanker reports and higher shipping costs framed energy risk. Microsoft outlined a larger Maia AI-chip deployment. Overnight, the IMF described a conditional oil-and-growth shock and Bulgaria reported drone strikes on two Black Sea ships.