08:51 AM EDT, 05/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) retreated 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.5% lower in Wednesday's premarket activity, as traders await clues to when the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures declining 0.5%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures losing 0.6% before the start of regular trading.

Mortgage applications in the US rebounded by 2.6% in the week ending May 3, driven by a decrease in mortgage rates, which led to increased activity in refinancing and new home applications, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported early Wednesday.

The wholesale inventories report will be released at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly EIA crude oil inventories bulletin at 10:30 am ET.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson speaks at 11 am, Boston Fed President Susan Collins at 11:45 am, and Fed Governor Lisa Cook at 1:30 pm.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 2% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.2% lower.

Power Play:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) retreated 0.2%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.3% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gained 0.3%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell by 1.1%.

DoubleVerify Holdings ( DV ) was down more than 39% in recent Wednesday premarket activity after multiple analysts downgraded the company's stock and cut price targets.

Winners and Losers:

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) retreated 0.4%, the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was up 0.4% while the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.

Louisiana-Pacific ( LPX ) gained more than 11% before the opening bell after the company reported higher Q1 financial results from a year earlier.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was up flat, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was 0.2% higher The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was up 0.8%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) lost 0.5%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) fell 0.8%.

Trip Advisor (TRIP) shares traded down more than 18% pre-bell after the company reported higher Q1 financial results and said it is not considering any mergers.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced 0.1%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) fell 0.9% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.7% higher.

Elanco Animal Health ( ELAN ) was up 7.8% premarket after the company raised its outlook for 2024 EPS.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) retreated 0.4%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.9%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.9% higher.

Brookfield Asset Management ( BAM ) was down 3.2% pre-bell after the company reported flat Q1 distributable earnings and lower revenue from a year earlier.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was up 2%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was down by 0.6%.

Hess Midstream LP ( HESM ) was up 2.1% before the opening bell after the company said it intends to offer a private placement of $500 million in senior unsecured notes to reduce its outstanding indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost 1.2% to $77.44 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas rose 2.1% to $2.252 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 1.3%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 2.3% higher.

Gold futures for June retreated 0.1% to $2,323.20 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were down by 0.1% to $27.510 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) were advanced flat, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) gained 0.2%.