08:26 AM EDT, 04/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.1% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.2% higher in Tuesday's premarket activity, boosted by bank earnings rolling in pre-bell.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.1% before the start of regular trading.

The housing starts and permits bulletin for March will be released at 8:30 am ET, followed by the industrial production bulletin for March at 9:15 am ET.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson speaks at 9 am, New York Fed President John Williams at 12:30 pm, and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin at 1 pm.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell will participate in a discussion at 1:15 pm ET at the Washington Forum on the Canadian Economy.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down 1.3% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.9% lower.

Power Play:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) was up 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.8%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was down 1.5%.

Macatawa Bank ( MCBC ) shares were up nearly 39% pre-bell Tuesday, while Wintrust Financial ( WTFC ) shares were down 2.2% after the companies said late Monday they struck a merger agreement for Wintrust to buy Macatawa in an all-stock deal valuing Macatawa at about $510.3 million, or $14.85 per share.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) gained 0.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was flat, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) retreated 0.3%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.2%.

Ericsson (ERIC) shares were up more than 7% in recent Tuesday premarket activity after the company reported Q1 earnings of 0.77 Swedish kroner ($0.07) per diluted share, up from 0.45 kroner a year earlier.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced 0.9%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) and the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) were inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.3% lower.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) shares were up nearly 8% premarket after the company reported higher year-over-year Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) retreated 0.4% and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) slipped 0.6%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) lost 0.4%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) were inactive.

Tesla (TSLA) shares traded down 2.3% pre-bell after Reuters reported that a round of layoffs affecting more than 10% of its workforce worldwide has already begun, hitting the US and China.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) slipped 0.2% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was inactive and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was also inactive.

International Paper Company ( IP ) shares gained 1% before the opening bell after the company said it had reached a deal to acquire packaging company DS Smith in a stock deal worth about $9.9 billion.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was flat, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was down by 0.4%.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down by 0.6% at $84.94 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas advanced 1% to $1.70 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) lost 0.8%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1% higher.

Gold futures for June advanced by 0.2% to $2,388.20 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were down by 1.1% to $28.39 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) retreated 0.7%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 2.4% lower.