08:17 AM EDT, 04/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.6% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.8% higher in Monday's premarket activity, as investors focused on the upcoming deluge of earnings.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.6%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.6% and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.7% before the start of regular trading.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March will be released at 8:30 am ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 2.3% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2.7% higher.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) edged up 0.01%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was down 0.5% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.7% higher.

Moolec Science ( MLEC ) shares were up more than 118% premarket after the company reported that the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said that Moolec's genetically engineered soybean, accumulating animal meat protein, poses no increased plant pest risk compared to non-engineered soybeans.

Winners and Losers:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was up 0.5%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was inactive. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) gained 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) were inactive.

Li Auto ( LI ) and Tesla (TSLA) shares are down 7.3% and 3.9%, respectively, after both companies reduced the prices of their electric vehicles in China.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was 0.8% higher, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 1.5% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.4%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) advanced by 1.9%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.9%.

Informatica ( INFA ) was down nearly 7% in recent Monday premarket activity, while Salesforce ( CRM ) was 3.5% higher after media reports on Sunday said that Salesforce ( CRM ) had backed out of negotiations to acquire Informatica ( INFA ) after the companies failed to agree on transaction terms.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced by 0.5%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 1.6%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 1.3% lower.

Bank of Hawaii ( BOH ) was down 2.8% pre-bell Monday after reporting lower year-over-year Q1 earnings and revenue.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) advanced 0.3% and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was inactive, while the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was also inactive.

AZZ (AZZ) gained 4.3% before the opening bell after the company reported fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings Monday of $0.93 per diluted share, up from $0.30 a year earlier.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) advanced marginally by 0.02%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was up by 0.1%.

Energy Fuels ( UUUU ) was down 1.7% before Monday's opening bell after the company late Sunday said it agreed to acquire Australia-listed Base Resources for a total equity value of about 375 million Australian dollars ($331 million).

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down nearly 0.1% at $83.09 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas advanced nearly 0.1% to $1.75 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) lost 0.7%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.2% lower.

Gold futures for June retreated 2.3% to $2,357.20 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were down by 4.5% to $27.83 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) lost 1.9%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 4% lower.