09:29 AM EDT, 04/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.7% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.9% lower in Friday's premarket activity, as investor eye caution ahead of lower Q1 earnings from US banks including Citigroup ( C ) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.9%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.8%, and Nasdaq futures losing 1% before the start of regular trading.

The Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count will be released at 1 pm ET while the Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid will make the speech at the same time, followed by Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic's speech at 2:30 pm ET and his San Francisco counterpart Mary Daly's speech at 3:30 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down 0.7% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.1% lower.

Power Play:

Health Care

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

PaxMedica ( PXMD ) shares surged over 179% before the opening bell Friday a day after saying it completed its three pivotal registration/validation batches of PAX-101, an IV formulation of suramin.

Winners and Losers:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was 0.2% lower, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) were flat. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) lost 0.4%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was flat, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 1% down.

Ford Motor ( F ) shares were marginally down in recent Friday's pre-bell activity a day after media reports said the auto manufacturer cut the price of its electric F-150 Lightning truck as it prepares to restart deliveries this month following a halt earlier in the year.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) slipped by 0.9%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 2.8%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 3% higher.

BlackRock ( BLK ) shares were up nearly 0.4% in recent Friday premarket activity after reporting higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue from a year earlier.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) retreated 0.8%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was up 0.7% and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was flat.

Argan (AGX) stock jumped 10% before Friday's opening bell a day after it reported better-than-expected fiscal Q4 earnings and revenue.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) slid 1.2%, while the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.9% lower. The iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 0.7%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was 2.9% lower, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) lost 1.5%.

NextPlat ( NXPL ) shares soared more than 66% Friday premarket a day after the company reported improved financial results for 2023.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was flat, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was 0.7% higher.

TransAlta ( TAC ) shares were down 1.5% in recent premarket activity a day after saying it appointed Joel E. Hunter as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective July 1.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up by 2.7% at $87.34 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 0.9% to $1.75 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) gained 1.8% and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.4% lower.

Gold futures for June advanced 1.8% to $2,415 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were up by 4.2% to $29.45 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained 1%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 3.2% higher.