Consumer stocks were lower to flat premarket Wednesday, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) retreating 0.1% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) was flat.
Unilever (UL) shares were down more than 2% pre-bell following a roughly 9% rise at the previous close. Reuters reported that the company agreed to protect the employment terms and conditions of workers in its European and UK food business for two years after its planned 2027 merger with McCormick (MKC). McCormick stock was fractionally higher.