Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Higher Pre-Bell Friday Buoyed by Robust Corporate Earnings Season
The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.5% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.4% higher in Friday's premarket activity, buoyed by a robust corporate earnings season.US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.2% before the start of regular trading.The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading for May and the leading indicators data for April will be released at 10 am ET.Kansas City Fed's services reading for May is slated for an 11 am ET release.Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller speaks on Friday.In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.4%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.5% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) retreated by 0.7%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) declined by 0.03%.Power Play:TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) advanced by 0.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.7% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.5%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) increased by 0.5%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.7%.Workday (WDAY) shares were up more than 7% in premarket activity after the company's fiscal Q1 results overnight surpassed market expectations.Winners and Losers:IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 0.2%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were flat.Rocket Lab (RKLB) stock was up more than 2% before the opening bell after the company received a $90 million US Space Force contract to design, build, and operate two satellites hosting the Heimdall space domain awareness payload.Health CareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 0.3%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was down 0.1%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was flat. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.1% lower.Novo Nordisk (NVO) stock was down more than 1% premarket, after an almost similar fall in the previous session. The European Medicines Agency said it has recommended extending Wegovy's marketing authorization to include its oral formulation for weight management.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advanced 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.5% lower.UBS (UBS) shares were down more than 1% pre-bell. The company said Thursday it expects the voluntary review of Credit Suisse's World War II operations to conclude by the end of the year.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was up 0.3% and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) gained 0.5%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was down 0.2%. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) advanced by 0.1%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) increased 0.4%.Yum China Holdings (YUMC) shares were down more than 1% pre-bell, continuing from a 1.3% decline at the prior close. The company said its KFC light-meal business, KPRO, now operates more than 300 sites in China.EnergyThe iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was inactive, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was down by 0.2%.TotalEnergies (TTE) stock was down more than 1% before the opening bell after Bloomberg reported the company is considering selling a 50% stake in a portfolio of European renewable energy assets.CommoditiesFront-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced by 1.2% to $97.49 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 1.2% at $2.98 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) retreated by 0.7%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.9% lower.Gold futures for May retreated by 0.5% to $4,521.20 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures declined by 0.8% to $76.09 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was down by 0.4%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) fell by 1.3%.