08:50 AM EDT, 03/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) fell 0.4% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.7% lower in Tuesday's premarket activity, as traders focused on the start of the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.5%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.7% before the start of regular trading.

US housing starts in February reached a rate of 1.521 million, surpassing expectations of 1.440 million, while building permits stood at a rate of 1.518 million, slightly above the expected 1.496 million.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 5.9% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 4.9% lower.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) retreated 0.4%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was flat, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was up 0.2%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.2% lower.

Fusion Pharmaceuticals ( FUSN ) shares nearly doubled premarket after the company said it had agreed to be acquired by AstraZeneca (AZN) in a deal valued at about $2.4 billion.

Winners and Losers:

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) retreated 0.1% and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) slipped 0.3%, while the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was 1.6% lower.

Li-Cycle Holdings ( LICY ) shares rose more than 25% a day after saying it took measures to "significantly reduce" its workforce and curtail nonoperational spending as part of its cost-cutting measures.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) retreated 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.7% higher.

DLocal ( DLO ) shares were down 12% pre-bell Tuesday after the company reported Q4 earnings that missed forecasts and announced that Mark Ortiz had been named chief financial officer.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was down by 0.7%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.4% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was flat. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) lost 0.3%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell by 1.1%.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) shares slumped more than 10% in recent premarket activity Tuesday after the company filed a registration statement for the sale of 2 million common shares.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) slipped 0.04%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was flat. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) lost 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was flat.

XPeng ( XPEV ) traded up 3.5% pre-bell after the company reported forecast-beating Q4 financial results.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was 0.4% lower, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) slipped 0.1%.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped marginally by 0.01% to $82.71 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas rose 1.9% at $1.74 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) lost 0.1%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.4% higher.

Gold futures for April retreated 0.3% to $2,179.40 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were down by 0.5% to $25.14 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) were down 0.3%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.4% lower.