The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) retreated 0.4%, and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was down 1% in Wednesday's premarket activity, as investors awaited results from major technology companies.
US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.4%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.9% before the start of regular trading.
Mortgage applications rose by 1.9% in the week ended July 17 despite an increase in 30-year fixed mortgage rates, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday.
The weekly petroleum stocks data will be released at 10:30 am ET.
In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 0.8%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.7% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 0.3%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was flat.
Power Play:
Health Care
The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 0.1%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was up 1.3%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) slipped 0.6%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.5% lower.
Dyne Therapeutics (DYN) stock was down more than 8% premarket after the company priced an upsized secondary public offering of 18.3 million shares at $20.50 each.
Winners and Losers:
Industrial
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) retreated 0.7%, the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) lost 0.01%, and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was 0.5% higher.
GE Vernova (GEV) stock was down more than 1% before the opening bell after the company reported lower-than-expected Q2 earnings.
Consumer
The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was up 0.5%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was flat, and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was down 0.7%. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.6% higher.
Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) shares were down more than 4% pre-bell after the company swung to a fiscal Q4 loss.
Financial
The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advanced 0.04%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.1%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.1% lower.
Banco Santander (SAN) shares traded up 1% in early-hours activity after the company reported higher Q2 earnings and revenue.
Technology
The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 1.3%, the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.2% lower, and the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.8%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) fell by 1.8%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was down 2.8%.
Nvidia (NVDA) shares were down more than 1% in premarket activity after gaining nearly 2% at the prior close. Chief Executive Jensen Huang is expected to meet Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Lee, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin in the US this week for an artificial intelligence roundtable, according to news reports.
Energy
The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was flat, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was up by 1.1%.
Shell (SHEL) stock was up more than 1% before market open following a 1.2% gain in the previous session. The company resumed operations at a 200,000-barrel-per-day crude oil unit at its Pernis oil refinery in the Netherlands on Monday following a brief disruption, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Commodities
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced by 3.4% to $87.24 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up by 1.7% to $2.91 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 2.8%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.1% higher.
Gold futures for July advanced 1.3% to $4,128.70 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures were up 0.9% to $59.64 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) increased 1.1%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 1.4% higher.