08:28 AM EST, 02/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) advanced 0.4% in Tuesday's premarket activity, as investors were encouraged by positive manufacturing data and a softer outlook on inflation while closely monitoring the Federal Reserve's future rate trajectory.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.4%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.4% before the start of regular trading.

The Empire State Manufacturing Index for February will be released at 8:30 am ET, followed by the housing market index for the same month at 10 am ET.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly is scheduled to speak at 10:20 am ET, while Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr speaks at 1 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 0.2% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.1% lower.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) advanced 0.2%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was up 0.2% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) was inactive The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) gained 0.8%.

GeneDx Holdings ( WGS ) was up more than 18% premarket after the company swung to adjusted net income in Q4, topping analyst expectations.

Winners and Losers:

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) advanced 0.2% and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) gained 0.5%, while the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) was inactive.

Fluor (FLR) was down 2.9% before the opening bell after the company reported lower Q4 adjusted earnings that trailed analyst estimates.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) advanced 0.6%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 0.2% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was up 0.5%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) gained 0.4%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.9%.

Donnelley Financial Solutions ( DFIN ) was up 1.2% in premarket activity evenn as the company reported lower Q4 adjusted earnings and sales.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was up 0,2%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) gained 0.3%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) was flat, 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 flat.

Intercontinental Hotels Group ( IHG ) shares were down 1.8% pre-bell after the company reported lower-than-expected 2024 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced 0.3%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) rose 1%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 0.8% lower.

UP Fintech ( TIGR ) shares were up 2% pre-bell Tuesday after the company said it has integrated the DeepSeek-R1 model into its investment chatbot TigerGPT.

Energy

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

Entergy ( ETR ) stock was up 1% before Tuesday's opening bell after the company reported higher Q4 adjusted earnings.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 0.7% to $71.23 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas fell 2.9% to $3.62 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) gained 0.7%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was 1.3% lower.

Gold futures for April gained 1.1% to $2,932 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures advanced 0.5% to $33.03 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) were up 1.2%, and the iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 0.8% higher.