08:37 AM EDT, 04/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 1.2% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 1.5% lower in Wednesday's premarket activity, ahead of the release of the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

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

In the week ended April 5, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 0.1% increase in US mortgage applications, driven by a rise in refinancing applications, despite a decrease in new home purchase applications. Refinancing activity increased by 10%, while new purchase applications declined by 5%, coinciding with a rebound in 30-year fixed mortgage rates to 7.01%.

The March consumer price index (CPI) bulletin will be posted at 8:30 am ET, followed by the February wholesale inventories report at 10 am ET. The weekly EIA domestic oil inventories report will be released at 10:30 am ET.

The Federal Reserve's March 19-20 policy meeting minutes will be posted at 2 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 0.3% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.1% lower.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) was 0.2% higher. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was up 0.4% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was adding 0.3%.

Jaguar Health ( JAGX ) shares were up more than 36% premarket after the company said that all proposals were approved at its April 2024 stockholder meeting and it does not intend to effect a reverse split at this time.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was down 0.1%. The iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was adding 0.6% and 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 0.1%.

Via Optronics ( VIAO ) shares were down 41% in recent Wednesday premarket activity after the company said late Tuesday it intends to voluntarily delist its American depository shares from the New York Stock Exchange and terminate its registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) was little changed and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was 1.5% up, while the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was 0.3% down.

Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) shares gained 4.5% before the opening bell after the company reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.45 per diluted share, up from $0.25 a year earlier.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) gained 0.3%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.5%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.5% lower.

Franklin Resources ( BEN ) shares were up 1.5% pre-bell Wednesday after the company reported late Tuesday preliminary assets under management of about $1.645 trillion at the end of March, up from $1.622 trillion at the end of February.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was fractionally higher, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was 0.2% lower. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was 0.1% down, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) gained 0.3%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) added 0.2%, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was advancing by about 0.9%.

PriceSmart's ( PSMT ) shares were up 4.5% pre-bell Wednesday after the company reported an increase in fiscal Q2 earnings and sales, and declared a one-time special dividend.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was 0.7% down, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was up by 0.5%.

Global Partners LP ( GLP ) shares were up 0.02% before Wednesday's opening bell after the company said late Tuesday that it acquired four liquid energy terminals from Gulf Oil Limited Partnership for $212.3 million.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.6% at $85.77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas advanced 2% to $1.90 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) gained 0.6%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1% higher.

Gold futures for June advanced 0.2% to $2,366.20 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were up by 0.8% to $28.20 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) retreated 0.2%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.2% lower.