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Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell Friday as Investors Retreat From Chipmaker Stocks

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The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.7%, and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 1.8% in Friday's premarket activity, as investors continued to pull back from chipmakers.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.8%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures declining 1.6% before the start of regular trading.

June housing starts jumped by 19% from the previous month to a 1.427 million annual rate, above expectations compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 am ET for a 1.310 million rate after a decrease to a 1.199 million pace in May.

US import prices rose by 0.3% in June, compared to the 0.7% decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following a 1.7% increase in May.

Industrial production data for June will be released at 9:15 am ET, followed by the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading for July at 10:00 am ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 1.5%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.7% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) retreated 2%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) gained 1.3%.

Power Play:

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.6%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was up 0.7%, and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) advanced 0.9%. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.7%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) gained 1%, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.5% lower.

XPeng (XPEV) shares were down more than 5% pre-bell after closing the prior session with a 1% rise. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the company is launching its L03 SUV in Munich, marking its first global vehicle launch outside China as it expands in Europe and other overseas markets.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 2.2%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 2.1% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 2.1%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) declined 3.4%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell by 3.9%.

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) shares were down more than 5% in premarket activity following a 1.8% fall at the prior close. The company said it will work with logic semiconductor manufacturer Rapidus to advance "agentic AI" for advanced-node system-on-chip design under a new collaboration.

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) retreated 0.6%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were flat.

SpaceX's (SPCX) stock was down more than 4% before the opening bell after CEO Elon Musk said in a Thursday post on X that the company's Starship rocket triggered an "automatic launch abort," with the next launch to be rescheduled possibly "in a few days".

Health Care

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 0.4%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was up 0.1%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) slipped 0.5%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was down 0.4%.

GSK (GSK) stock was down more than 2% premarket after the company said it would discontinue development of camlipixant for refractory chronic cough after the drug produced mixed results in the phase 3 CALM-1 and CALM-2 trials.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was up 0.6%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was 1.5% higher.

BP (BP) stock was up more than 1%, and ConocoPhillips (COP) was 2% higher before market open. CNBC reported Friday that the companies plan to reveal billions of dollars in new investments in Iraq to help build its energy sector and increase resilience against Iranian disruptions.

Financial

The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advanced 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.2%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.1% lower.

Truist Financial (TFC) shares traded down 1% in early hours activity, even after the company reported higher Q2 earnings and revenue.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced by 2.7% to $81.04 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up by 0.5% to $2.87 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 2.4%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1% lower.

Gold futures for July retreated 0.1% to $3,988.00 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures were down 1.1% to $55.59 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) decreased 0.2%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.9% lower.

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