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Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell Tuesday as Investors Exercise Caution Ahead of Fed Meeting

, MT Newswires - 8:10 AM ET 3/18/2025 mergers-and-acquisitions

08:10 AM EDT, 03/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was down 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) retreated 0.5% in Tuesday's premarket activity, as investors remain cautious as they await the Federal Reserve's policy meeting amid ongoing trade tensions and economic uncertainties.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.3% before the start of regular trading.

The Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting is slated to begin later in the day.

The housing starts and permits report and the import and export prices report, both for February, post at 8:30 am ET.

The February industrial production bulletin will be released at 9:15 am ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was down by 2.2% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2.3% lower.

Power Play:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) declined by 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was down 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 0.7% higher.

FinVolution ( FINV ) shares were up more than 10% pre-bell Tuesday after the company reported higher Q4 non-GAAP net profit and revenue late Monday.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) retreated 0.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 0.5% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) declined by 0.03%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell 0.3%.

Grab (GRAB) shares were up more than 3% in recent Tuesday premarket activity after Bloomberg reported the company has initiated due diligence on GoTo Group as it plans to acquire the company.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was up 0.04%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) gained 0.2%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) lost 0.7%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) was 0.3% lower.

Ralph Lauren ( RL ) shares were up more than 2% pre-bell after Goldman Sachs upgraded the apparel company to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $286 from $280.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) retreated 0.03%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was inactive while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) gained 0.9%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was inactive.

STAAR Surgical ( STAA ) stock was up 2% premarket after the company said late Monday it has named former Chief Financial Officer Deborah Andrews its interim finance chief, effective immediately.

Industrial

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

Embraer ( ERJ ) stock was up more than 2% before the opening bell after the company said late Monday its board approved an up to 1.1 million share buyback plan.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was up by 0.5%.

Flowco ( FLOC ) stock was up 2% before Tuesday's opening bell after the company reported higher Q4 net revenue that beat analyst expectations compiled by FactSet.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 1.2% to $68.40 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas retreated 0.8% to $3.99 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was up 1.5%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) declined 0.6%.

Gold futures for April advanced 1.1% to $3,037.60 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures gained 1.4% to $34.78 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) advanced 0.8%, and the iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 0.8% higher.

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