08:26 AM EDT, 07/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 0.8% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 1.2% higher in Friday's premarket activity, ahead of key inflation data.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.8%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.6% and the Nasdaq futures gaining 0.1% before the start of regular trading.

The June personal consumption expenditures core price index, or the PCE core, will be released at 8:30 am ET. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment bulletin for July will be posted at 10 am ET, and the Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count at 1 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up 4% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ( BITO ) was 4.2% higher.

Power Play:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was up 0.4%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was inactive. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) advanced 0.2%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) was inactive. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) was up by 0.1%.

Carter's (CRI) shares traded down more than 12% pre-bell after the company reported lower-than-expected fiscal Q2 net sales and released fiscal Q3 and 2024 guidance that trailed analyst expectations.

Winners and Losers:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) gained 0.7%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up nearly 2%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 1.6% lower.

NatWest Group ( NWG ) stock was up nearly 6% pre-bell Friday after the company reported in a filing with the London Stock Exchange that its subsidiary National Westminster Bank is acquiring 2.5 billion pound sterling ($3.22 billion) worth of prime UK residential mortgages from Metro Bank.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) advanced 1.1% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) and the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) were inactive.

3M ( MMM ) stock gained more than 5% before the opening bell after the company reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $1.93 per diluted share, up from $1.39 a year earlier.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was up by 0.1%.

Baytex Energy ( BTE ) stock was down 2.7% before Friday's opening bell after the company said its Q2 profit fell by half even as sales almost doubled.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) retreated marginally by 0.01%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was up 0.1% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) was 0.6% higher.

Centene ( CNC ) stock was up nearly 2% premarket after the company reported higher Q2 results and raised its 2024 forecast.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) advanced 1.5%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 0.7% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was up 1.6%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) was down 0.4%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) rose by 2.5%.

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) shares were up nearly 2% in recent premarket activity after the company said over 97% of Windows sensors were back online as of Thursday, a week after the firm issued a routine update containing a bug that triggered a global IT outage.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost 0.4% to $77.95 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 0.6% at $2.03 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) fell 0.2%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was nearly 0.1% lower.

Gold futures for December were up 0.8% to $2,419.90 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures fell 0.2% to $27.93 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) gained 0.5%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 0.2% lower.