08:06 AM EDT, 07/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- 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) was 0.2% higher in Tuesday's premarket activity, as earnings from big banks rolled in pre-bell amid rising hopes of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut coming soon.

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

The June national retail sales report and the import and export prices bulletin will be released at 8:30 am ET.

The June business inventories report and the NAHB Housing Market Index for July will be posted at 10 am ET.

Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler speaks at 2:45 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 0.3% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ( BITO ) was 0.3% higher.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) advanced 0.1%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was flat while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) was 0.4% higher.

Zai Lab ( ZLAB ) shares were up more than 6%, while Argenx SE ( ARGX ) was 1.2% higher premarket Tuesday after the companies said that China's National Medical Products Administration approved a biologics license application for efgartigimod alfa injection indicated as an add-on to standard therapy for adult patients with generalized myasthenia gravis.

Winners and Losers:

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) advanced 0.3% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) and the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) were inactive.

Greenland Technologies Holding's ( GTEC ) stock was up more than 7% before the opening bell after the company said it is partnering with Lonking to develop advanced electric machinery for the US market.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was flat, 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 ) advanced 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) was marginally up by 0.04%.

Sweetgreen ( SG ) stock traded up 3% pre-bell after Morgan Stanley upgraded the company's rating to equalweight from underweight and raised its price target to $25 from $17.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) gained 0.4%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up 1.4%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 1.3% lower.

Bank of America ( BAC ) was up 2.6% pre-bell Tuesday after the company reported Q2 net revenue of $25.38 billion, up from $25.20 billion a year earlier.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) gained 0.1%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 0.6% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) was up 1.9%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) rose by 0.4%.

Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) shares were down 1.6% in recent Tuesday premarket activity after Mizuho downgraded the company to underperform from neutral.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was flat, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was dowm by 0.4%.

TotalEnergies (TTE) stock was down 1.4% before Tuesday's opening bell after the company said it anticipates lower Q2 downstream results stemming from reduced refining margins in Europe and the Middle East.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost 1.4% to $80.77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas advanced 0.2% to $2.16 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was down 1.6%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was 0.7% higher.

Gold futures for August were up 0.7% to $2,446.30 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures fell 0.4% to $31.15 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) gained 0.8%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 0.5% higher.