08:44 AM EDT, 10/14/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was down 0.9% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 1.1% lower in Tuesday's premarket activity amid escalating trade friction between the US and China.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.9%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 1.2% before the start of regular trading.

US small-business confidence slipped in September, with the NFIB Optimism Index easing to 98.8 from 100.8 in August, though it remained higher than a year earlier.

Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman speaks at 8:45 am ET.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech titled "Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy" to the National Association for Business Economics in Philadelphia is slated for 12:20 pm ET.

Governor Christopher Waller will speak at 3:25 pm ET, followed by Boston Fed President Susan Collins' remarks at 3:30 pm ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 3.8%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 3.9% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) fell 6%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) retreated 2.7%.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) retreated 0.5%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) gained 0.5%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) slipped 0.4%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was down 1.1%.

Astria Therapeutics ( ATXS ) shares were up more than 41% after BioCryst Pharmaceuticals ( BCRX ) agreed to acquire Astria in a $700 million deal. BioCryst stock was 1% lower.

Winners and Losers:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) retreated 0.3%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was down 1.5%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 1.7% higher.

Wells Fargo ( WFC ) shares were up more than 3% pre-bell after the company reported higher Q3 earnings and revenue.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) retreated 1.3%, the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 1.7% lower, and the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was down 1.5%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) fell 1.5%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) declined by 2%.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares were down nearly 2% in recent premarket activity. Arete cut the company's price target to $244 from $235.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was down 0.9%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) retreated by 1.2%.

BP (BP) stock was down more than 2% before Tuesday's opening bell after the company raised its expectations for Q3 upstream output, but said it expects "weak" oil trading.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) retreated 0.8%, and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) fell 1.3%, while the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) was 1.4% higher.

Redwire ( RDW ) shares were down nearly 1%, while Red Cat ( RCAT ) stock was 2% lower before the opening bell. Redwire ( RDW ) said its Edge Autonomy unit is partnering with Red Cat ( RCAT ) to combine their drone technologies for US Army operations.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was up 0.1%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was flat. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) gained 0.03%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) lost 1.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) was down 1.3%.

General Motors ( GM ) shares were down nearly 2% pre-bell after the company said it is taking charges of $1.60 billion in GM North America in the three months ended Sept. 30, based on a planned strategic realignment of its EV capacity and manufacturing footprint to consumer demand.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil retreated 2.1% to $58.25 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas fell by 2.3% to $3.06 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 2.5% lower, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was 1.9% lower.

Gold futures for December advanced 0.4% to reach $4,148.90 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures advanced by 0.1% to $50.46 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) gained by 0.5%, and the iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 1.3% lower.