08:06 AM EDT, 07/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 0.2% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.4% higher in Tuesday's premarket activity as the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day policy meeting kicks off.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.3% before the start of regular trading.

The Case-Shiller Home Price Index and the FHFA House Price Index for May will be released at 9 am ET.

The July Consumer Confidence bulletin from the Conference Board will be released at 10 am ET, as does the Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey, aka JOLTS, for June.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 1% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ( BITO ) was also 1% lower.

Power Play:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) advanced 0.2%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 0.5% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) gained marginally by 0.01%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) rose by 0.2%.

QXO (QXO) shares were down 80% in recent Tuesday premarket activity after the company said late Monday that it filed a prospectus supplement covering the resale by certain selling security holders of about 789.5 million shares.

Winners and Losers:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was down 0.5%, 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.

Sprouts Farmers Market ( SFM ) traded up more than 17% as Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo and BMO Capital raised their price target for the company after Sprouts reported higher Q2 earnings and sales.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) advanced 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up 1%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 1% lower.

Nomura Holdings ( NMR ) shares were up more than 7% pre-bell after the company reported higher fiscal Q1 results and raised its guidance for 2024.

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.

Stanley Black & Decker ( SWK ) stock gained 5.6% before the opening bell after the company reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $1.09 per diluted share, swinging from a loss of $0.11 a year earlier.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) advanced 0.1%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) , the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) , and the iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) were inactive.

Merck ( MRK ) shares were down 1.8 premarket after the pharmaceutical company cut its guidance for 2024 non-GAAP earnings.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was flat.

BP (BP) stock was up 1.3% before Tuesday's opening bell after the company reported Q2 underlying earnings Tuesday of $1 per American depositary share, up from $0.89 a year earlier.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost 0.7% to $75.30 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 0.5% at $2.03 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) fell 0.7%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was nearly 1.1% lower.

Gold futures for December were up 0.4% to $2,436 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures gained 0.5% at $28 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) gained 0.3%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) retreated marginally by 0.04%.