Healthcare stocks were mixed premarket Wednesday, with the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) 0.1% lower and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) up 0.7%.
Guardant Health (GH) shares were up more than 6% after the company said its Shield blood test has been included in the American Cancer Society's updated Colorectal Cancer Screening guidelines.
Consumer stocks were edging higher pre-bell Wednesday, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) up 0.1% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) advancing by 0.6%.Lululemon athletica (LULU) stock was up more than 3% after the company said it has settled its dispute with its founder, Chip Wilson.
Gold fell to a two-month low early on Monday, even as the dollar dipped as oil prices weakened ahead of an expected deal to end the war on Iran, easing inflation worries.Gold for July delivery was last seen down US$47.80 to US$4,487.20 per ounce, the lowest since March 26.The precious metal has remained well below its Jan. 28 record high as investors turned to the dollar as oil prices surged after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, which responded by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for a fifth of daily oil demand supplied by Persian Gulf nations.However oil prices have retreated from four-year highs touched last month on expectations Iran and the United States will soon end hostilities amid talks in Qatar and reopen the Strait, easing the inflation worries that have supported the dollar and pushed up treasury yields, both bearish for gold."Gold fell alongside US bond yields on Tuesday as the prospect of a Middle East peace deal weighed on oil prices, thereby easing inflation concerns. In addition, a powerful global equity rally, led by chipmakers, has reduced near-term demand for defensive assets such as gold," Saxo Bank noted.The dollar was lower early, with the ICE dollar index last seen down 0.18 points to 98.99. Treasury yields edged down, with the U.S. two-year note last seen paying 4.041%, down 0.5 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was down 2.3 points to 4.47%.
Technology stocks were rising premarket Wednesday, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) up 1.1% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) advancing by 3.2%.Micron Technology (MU) shares were up more than 6%, extending gains after the company's market capitalization eclipsed $1 trillion for the first time on Tuesday.