08:50 AM EDT, 04/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 2.8% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 3.5% higher in Wednesday's premarket activity amid a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 2.8%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 2.7%, and Nasdaq futures rising 3.5% before the start of regular trading.

Mortgage applications declined further in the week ended April 3 despite a decline in mortgage rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.

State-level unemployment data for January are due to be released at 10 am ET, followed by weekly oil stocks data at 10:30 am ET.

The minutes of the March 17-18 Federal Open Market Committee meeting will be released at 2 pm ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 3.6%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 4% higher, Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 6.2%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) gained 0.04%.

Power Play:

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was up 1%, and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) gained 2.3%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) advanced 0.2%. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) rose 3.7%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 2.5% higher.

Stellantis ( STLA ) shares were up more than 8% pre-bell after Reuters reported the vehicle manufacturer is in advanced talks to co-develop an Opel-branded electric sport utility vehicle with its Chinese partner Leapmotor to cut costs and speed up EV development.

Winners and Losers:

Financial

The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advanced 2.5%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) rose 7.1%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) fell 7.3%.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group's ( SMFG ) shares were up more than 5% pre-bell after a Tuesday statement from Governor Josh Stein's office that Sumitomo's SMBC Group unit will invest $50.5 million to build its second US headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was down 3.8%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLE ) retreated by 4.9%.

Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) stock was down more than 5% before Wednesday's opening bell after the company said it expects its Q1 global oil-equivalent production to be 6% lower compared with Q4 last year due to attacks on facilities in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in March.

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) advanced by 4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 4% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was up 4.2%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) rose 3.9%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) gained 5.4%.

Accenture ( ACN ) shares were up more than 1% in Wednesday's premarket activity after the company said that it has acquired Spanish cloud-native AI and data company, Keepler Data Tech.

Health Care

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLV ) advanced 1.7%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was up 1.8%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) gained 0.5%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 2.8% higher.

GSK (GSK) stock was up more than 2% premarket after the company said the Chinese National Medical Products Administration approved its biologic medication Exdensur as a supplemental therapy for adult patients suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLI ) advanced 3.5%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) gained 3% and the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) rose 2.8%.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (PAC) stock was up more than 1% before the opening bell after closing the previous session with a 2.2% fall. The company said late Tuesday that total terminal passenger traffic fell 8.9% in March from a year earlier, driven by declines in both domestic and international travelers.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell by 18% to $92.26 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas retreated by 4% to $2.76 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was down by 12%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was 2.5% lower.

Gold futures for May were up by 3.1% at $4,830.50 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures advanced 7.7% to $77.52 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) was 1.8% higher, and the iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) rose by 5.6%.