08:26 AM EDT, 03/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was down 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) retreated 0.2% in Monday's premarket activity, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not rule out a recession on Sunday, leading to heightened investor concerns about economic growth.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures declining 0.2% before the start of regular trading.

The February national retail sales bulletin and the Empire State Manufacturing Index for March will be released at 8:30 am ET.

The January business inventories report and the National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index for March will be posted at 10 am ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 0.5% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.5% lower.

Power Play:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) advanced marginally, the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 0.2% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was flat. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) was flat, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was up slightly.

Science Applications International ( SAIC ) shares were up more than 7% in recent Monday premarket activity after the company reported higher fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Winners and Losers:

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) added 0.2%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was flat.

Barnwell Industries ( BRN ) stock was up more than 4% before Monday's opening bell after the company said it sold its subsidiary Water Resources International for $1.1 million.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) retreated 0.5%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was down 0.2% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) lost 1%.

Sutro Biopharma ( STRO ) stock was up 6.2% premarket Monday after closing Friday with a more than 35% drop. The company said Saturday it presented new data from the dose-optimization phase of an ovarian cancer trial, indicating that luveltamab tazevibulin demonstrated clinical activity in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was down 0.1%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) gained 0.04%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) rose 1.9%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) lost 0.3%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) advanced 0.1%.

Cango ( CANG ) shares were up 0.5% pre-bell after the company said it had been included in the Bitwise Bitcoin Standard Corporations exchange-traded fund.

Industrial

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

KBR (KBR) stock was up 0.7% before the opening bell, adding to the 1.6% gain at Friday's close. The company said Monday that it was awarded a $176 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory to provide operations and equipment maintenance support to the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site in Hawaii.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) retreated 0.6%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was down 2.1%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 1.9% higher.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 1.2% to $67.74 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas rose 2.6% to $4.21 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was up 1.3%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) advanced 0.7%.

Gold futures for April advanced 0.2% to $3,008.20 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures retreated 0.3% to $34.34 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) advanced 0.1%, and the iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 0.1% lower.