The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.1% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.5% lower in Monday's premarket activity, as investors mull the possibility and extent of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
US stock futures were mixed, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures slipping 0.5% before the start of regular trading.
The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State Manufacturing Index for September rose to 11.5 from minus 4.7 in August and compared with a reading of minus 4.0 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET.
In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 2.1% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.9% lower.
Power Play:
Financial
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) was flat. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 1.4%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 1.2% lower.
Synchrony Financial (SYF) shares were down nearly 2% pre-bell Monday after BTIG downgraded the company to neutral from buy.
Winners and Losers:
Health Care
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) was flat. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was up 0.3%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) were inactive.
AstraZeneca (AZN) shares were up 1.5% premarket after the company said that an analysis of data in a phase 3 trial of its drug Imfinzi plus Imjudo showed "sustained, clinically meaningful" overall survival benefit at four years for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.
Consumer
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was up 0.1%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was inactive. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) gained 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) were inactive.
Colgate-Palmolive (CL) shares were down 1.5% pre-bell after Wells Fargo downgraded the company's rating to underweight from equalweight.
Industrial
Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) advanced 0.4% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.
Alcoa (AA) shares gained 1.6% before the opening bell after the aluminum manufacturer said Sunday that it agreed to offload its entire stake in a joint venture with Saudi Arabian Mining, known as Ma'aden, to the state-owned mining company in a stock and cash deal worth $1.1 billion.
Technology
Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) retreated 0.7%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.5% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was marginally up by 0.01%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was flat, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell by 1.3%.
Intel (INTC) stock was up 1.3% in recent Monday premarket activity after Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources, that the company has officially qualified for up to $3.5 billion in US government funding to make semiconductors for a secret military program.
Energy
The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was up by 0.4%.
Delek US Holdings (DK) stock was up 1.4% before Monday's opening bell after Mizuho Securities upgraded the company's rating to neutral from underperform.
Commodities
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.1% to $69.37 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 0.5% at $2.29 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) advanced by 0.1%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) also gained by 0.1%.
Gold futures for December were down nearly 0.1% at $2,608.60 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures were up 0.7% at $31.29 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) slipped by 0.1%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.8% higher.
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