09:05 AM EDT, 10/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.7% higher in Friday's premarket activity, as technology and banks earnings continue to gather investors' confidence.

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

September housing starts fell by 0.5% from the previous month to a 1.354 million annual rate, slightly above the expectations compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET for a 1.350 million rate, while building permits decreased by 2.9% to a 1.428 million rate in September, below the 1.460 million rate expected.

Federal Reserve Atlanta President Raphael Bostic will speak at 9:30 am ET, followed by Fed Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari's speech at 10 am ET at the Banking, Regulation, and Macroeconomic Outcomes conference.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller will speak around 12 pm ET at the annual Vienna Macroeconomics workshop in Austria, while the weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas rig count is due at 1 pm ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was up 1.4% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.5% higher.

Power Play:

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was marginally up by 0.01%.

Pineapple Energy ( PEGY ) stock was 67% higher in Friday's premarket activity after it said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it terminated the lease for its principal corporate office.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) was 0.2% higher. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was up 0.3%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) and the iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) were flat.

Tenon Medical ( TNON ) shares were up 37% pre-bell Friday, after saying overnight it was issued three US patents.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was down 0.3%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) gained 0.4%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) was flat, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) gained 0.1%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) advanced 0.1%.

MGP Ingredients ( MGPI ) stock slipped 20% before the bell Friday, a day after lowering its 2024 adjusted EPS and sales outlook.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) was 0.4% higher, while the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) and the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) were flat. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) was flat, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) rose by 0.8%.

Netflix ( NFLX ) stock rose 6.3% before Friday's bell, a day after it reported higher Q3 earnings and revenue from a year earlier.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) was marginally down by 0.02%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up 0.2%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 0.3% lower.

Simmons First National ( SFNC ) stock rose 2% before the Friday bell after it reported better-than-expected Q3 adjusted earnings.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) was up 0.4% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) gained 0.3%. The iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) was flat.

Archer-Daniels-Midland ( ADM ) stock was slightly down before the opening bell Friday after news outlets reported overnight the company was facing a lawsuit over allegations of negligence that caused an explosion and serious harm to an employee last year.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil marginally advanced by 0.01% to $70.10 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas gained 0.3% to reach $2.35 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) increased marginally by 0.03%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was 0.3% lower.

Gold futures for December rose 0.7% to $2,726.70 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures gained 1.8% to reach $32.36 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) advanced 0.8%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 1.9% higher.