Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Edge Higher Pre-Bell Wednesday Ahead of Fed Meeting Minutes, Jobs Data Revision

08:14 AM EDT, 08/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) were 0.1% higher in Wednesday's premarket activity, ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes and the preliminary revision of jobs data.

US stock futures were also edging higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.1% before the start of regular trading.

US mortgage applications fell 10.1% in the week ended Aug. 16, partially reversing the prior week's 16.1% gain despite declining mortgage rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. Refinancing applications dropped 15%, while purchase applications slid by a seasonally adjusted 5%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release at 10 am ET its preliminary benchmark revision of employment data for the year through March.

The August Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations report and the Q2 national services survey will be released at 10 am ET.

The weekly EIA petroleum status bulletin is slated to be released at 10:30 am ET.

The US central bank will post minutes from its policy meeting concluded July 31 at 2 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 0.2% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was also 0.2% lower.

Power Play:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.8%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.6% lower.

Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG) rose more than 62% while Bitfarms (BITF) shares were down more than 7% premarket Wednesday after Bitfarms agreed to buy Stronghold in a stock-for-stock deal valued at $125 million.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced 0.2%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) and the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) were inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up nearly 1%.

Anew Medical (WENA) shares were up more than 19% premarket after the company said it signed an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Transfertech Sherbrooke for its Nanoject injector.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was flat, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) advanced 0.2%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was up 0.4%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) gained 0.4%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was up 0.9%, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was more than 1% higher.

Target (TGT) shares traded up more than 14% pre-bell Wednesday after the company reported higher Q2 results and lifted its 2024 guidance.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) gained 0.2%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was flat, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.04%.

Keysight Technologies (KEYS) shares were up 11% in recent Wednesday premarket activity after the company overnight posted better-than-expected fiscal Q3 results.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) advanced 0.1% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was 0.7% lower and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was down nearly 2%.

Dycom Industries (DY) stock lost 3% before the opening bell after the company said that it had acquired Black & Veatch's public carrier wireless telecommunications infrastructure business.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was up by 0.3%.

Arch Resources (ARCH) stock was up nearly 5% before Wednesday's opening bell and Consol Energy (CEIX) shares gained 4% after the companies said they have agreed to an all-stock merger of equals to create a coal producer and supplier named Core Natural Resources.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost 0.4% to $74.04 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up 0.6% at $2.21 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) advanced 0.2%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.7% higher.

Gold futures for December declined 0.1% to $2,547.80 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures were up 0.5% at $30.11 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) retreated 0.1%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.5% higher.