08:44 AM EDT, 10/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 0.2% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.3% higher in Monday's premarket activity, ahead of a deluge of earnings releasing during the week.

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

Federal Reserve Minneapolis Neel Kashkari speaks at 9 am ET and 5 pm ET, and Governor Christopher Waller speaks at 3 pm ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 3.5% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 3% higher.

Power Play:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) gained 0.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 0.6% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was up 0.8%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) rose by 0.5%.

Zapata Computing Holdings ( ZPTA ) shares were down more than 70% in recent Monday premarket activity after the company said late Friday that its board had approved the cessation of operations due to insolvency.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) advanced 0.1%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was up 0.5% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) fell 2.1%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) was up 0.1%.

Longboard Pharmaceuticals ( LBPH ) stock was up more than 51% premarket after the company signed an agreement for H. Lundbeck to acquire Longboard in a transaction with $2.6 billion in equity value.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) advanced 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up 0.8%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 0.3% lower.

B. Riley Financial ( RILY ) shares were up more than 24% pre-bell Monday after the company said it has signed an agreement with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management to create a holding company called Great American Holdings.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) advanced 0.1% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) and the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) were inactive.

Caterpillar ( CAT ) shares were down 2.2% before the opening bell after Morgan Stanley downgraded the company to underweight from equalweight and cut its price target to $332 from $349.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was up 0.1%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was inactive. 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 ) was down 0.5%.

Alibaba Group ( BABA ) shares were down 2%, while Baidu ( BIDU ) stock fell 2.5% pre-bell after Bloomberg reported that the companies are backing the Hong Kong initial public offering of Horizon Robotics and have agreed to subscribe for a total of $220 million in shares alongside a Ningbo government fund and France's CMA CGM.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was down by 0.3%.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.1% to $73.94 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 2.3% at $2.57 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) retreated 1.9%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) fell 1.8%.

Gold futures for December were down 0.3% at $2,669.60 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures fell 1.3% to $31.36 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) were down 0.2%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 1.1% lower.