08:29 AM EDT, 05/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) edged up 0.04% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.1% higher in Friday's premarket activity, as hopes of a September rate cut waned following US Federal Reserve officials' statements.

US stock futures were also edging higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.04%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.02% and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.1% before the start of regular trading.

The Q1 e-commerce retail sales report will be released at 10 am ET, along with the Conference Board leading indicators for April. The weekly Banker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm ET.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller speaks at 10:15 am ET, and San Francisco President Mary Daly at 12:15 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 1.7% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ( BITO ) was 1.8% higher.

Power Play:

Technology

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

DXC Technology ( DXC ) shares were down more than 23% in recent Friday premarket activity after the company reported lower fiscal Q4 results.

Winners and Losers:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) edged up 0.03%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC), the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) , the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) , and the VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) were inactive. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) was down 0.3%.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store ( CBRL ) shares were down more than 14% pre-bell after the company lowered its quarterly dividend to $0.25.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) advanced 0.04% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) and the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) were inactive.

JanOne ( JAN ) stock was up more than 8% before the opening bell after the company said late Thursday it has closed its all-stock acquisition of blockchain financial technology firm ALT 5 Sigma and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) advanced 0.1%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) , the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) and the iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) were inactive.

Autolus Therapeutics ( AUTL ) shares retreated more than 3% premarket after the company reported higher Q1 licensing revenue.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) was flat. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up 0.1%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 0.1% lower.

Axis Capital Holdings ( AXS/PE ) shares were down 0.2% pre-bell Friday after the company said late Thursday that its board approved a new share repurchase program of up to $300 million, in addition to the $36 million available for repurchases in the previous program.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) slipped marginally by 0.02%.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil retreated 0.2% to $79.08 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up 1.2% at $2.53 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 0.1% lower, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) gained 1.5%.

Gold futures for June gained 0.3% to reach $2,393.70 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures advanced 0.4% to $29.99 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) were up 0.4%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 0.5% higher.