Exchange-Traded Funds Higher, Equity Futures Mixed Pre-Bell Friday Amid Retail Sales Data
The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.1%, and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) advanced 0.3% in Friday's premarket activity, amid July retail sales data and rising oil prices.US stock futures were mixed, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures advancing 0.2% before the start of regular trading.US retail sales declined by 0.6% in July, compared with the expectation for a 0.1% increase in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following the previous month's revised 0.2% increase.The business inventories data for June and the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment reading for August will be released at 10:00 am ET.In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 0.8%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.29% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) retreated 0.65%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was 0.01% lower.Power Play:Health CareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) retreated 0.23%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was down 1.3%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was inactive as well.Heartflow (HTFL) stock advanced 24.8% after the company reported overnight a narrower-than-anticipated Q2 loss and a surge in revenue.Winners and Losers:IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) rose 0.38%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was 0.5% higher and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was flat.York Space Systems (YSS) stock was down more than 11.4% after the company reported a wider Q2 loss and cut its 2026 revenue guidance.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) fell 0.09%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.29%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.2% higher.Nu (NU) shares were up 15.3% after the company reported overnight a year-over-year surge in Q2 net income and revenue.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.2%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was flat, and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive. 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 flat.Reddit (RDDT) advanced by 11% in pre-bell activity a day after S&P Dow Jones Indices said Reddit will join the S&P 500 before the opening of trading on Aug. 18.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) was up 0.4%, the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.6% higher, and the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 0.2%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was 0.9% higher, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.3%.Sandisk (SNDK) shares were up more than 6% after Wells Fargo and RBC lifted their price targets on the company.EnergyThe iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was up 0.4%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was up by 0.3%.Energy Fuels (UUUU) stock was up more than 1% before the market opened after BMO Capital initiated the company with an outperform rating.CommoditiesFront-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained by 0.6% to $81.71 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up 1.3% at $2.76 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) gained 0.5%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.2% higher.Gold futures for November were up by 0.2% to $4,429.90 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures advanced 0.2% to $65.12 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained by 0.5%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.8% higher.
