09:24 AM EDT, 10/03/2025 (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 also 0.1% higher in Friday's premarket activity, as investors were eyeing another US Federal Reserve's interest rate cut for this year.

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

The S&P Global US Services Purchasing Managers' Index report for September is due at 9:45 am ET, followed by the ISM Services Index report for September at 10 am ET.

The Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count report is slated to be released at 1 pm ET.

Federal Reserve Dallas President Lorie Logan speaks at 1:30 pm ET at the 10th Annual Conference of International Economics, while Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson speaks at 1:40 pm ET at the Drexel Economic Forum in Philadelphia.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.5%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.3% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) slipped 0.4%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was flat.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) gained 0.3%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was down marginally, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) was flat. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 0.7%.

Ovid Therapeutics ( OVID ) shares were up 25% before Friday's opening bell, after the company said it has signed a securities purchase deal for a private investment in public equity financing for expected gross proceeds of up to $175 million. Separately, the company said that topline data from a phase 1 study of OV329 showed that the drug candidate achieved "statistically significant" inhibition of GABA-aminotransferase across multiple metrics.

Winners and Losers:

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) added 0.2%, the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) was 0.3% up, while the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) was flat.

USA Rare Earth ( USAR ) shares were 15% higher before the opening bell on Friday, a day after CNBC reported that Chief Executive Barbara Humpton said the company was in close communication with the White House regarding an agreement with the Trump administration.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) advanced slightly. The iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) gained 0.7%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) was 0.4% higher, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.3%.

Rumble (RUM) stock was up 12% pre-bell Friday after the company said overnight it collaborated with Perplexity to support AI-powered search and content discoverability across its video platform.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 0.4% lower.

Banco Santander (SAN) shares were 1.4% higher in recent Friday premarket activity, after the bank said its UK Chief Executive Mike Regnier intends to step down by Q1 next year.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was up by 0.1%, and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was 0.5% higher. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) was flat and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) advanced 0.5%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) was marginally down by 0.03%.

Instacart (CART) stock was down 0.8% before the Friday opening bell, after Piper Sandler downgraded the company to neutral from overweight and lowered its price target to $41 from $62.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was up 0.6%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was 0.4% higher.

Chevron ( CVX ) shares were 0.1% up before Friday's bell, after the energy giant said its fire department personnel and emergency responders are actively responding to an isolated fire at its El Segundo refinery in Los Angeles county. No injuries have been reported.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.4% to $60.71 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 1.9% at $3.38 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 0.4% higher, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) retreated 0.7%.

Gold futures for December were up 0.4% at $3,883.90 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures gained by 2.1% to reach $47.36 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) advanced by 0.1%, and the iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 1.5% higher.