Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell Friday Ahead of Powell Speech

The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) slipped 0.1% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.2% lower in Friday's premarket activity after Thursday's rally as investors anticipate insights from Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming remarks.

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

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will host a "Fed Listens" conference at 9 am ET in Washington.

The weekly Baker-Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count will be released at 1 pm ET, while Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks at 4 pm ET.

In premarket action, Bitcoin was down by 3% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1% lower.

Power Play:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was marginally declining, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was up 0.4%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) lost 1%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was down by 0.7%, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.7% down.

Lululemon Athletica's LULU shares fell more than 13% in premarket activity Friday after the company's guidance for sales and earnings for fiscal Q1 and the full financial year lagged market expectations.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) slipped slightly. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was inactive while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was 0.1% down. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) retreated 0.3%.

Grifols GRF shares were down more than 10% premarket following an announcement from Spain's regulator, the National Securities Market Commission, which stated on Thursday that while they did not find major errors in Grifols' financial statements, they "found relevant deficiencies" in the precision and comprehensiveness of certain breakdowns and explanatory notes in some years.

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 0.5% higher.

FedEx FDX shares were up more than 10% in premarket activity after the company reported forecast-beating fiscal Q3 financial results late Thursday and said its board authorized a new $5 billion share repurchase program.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) retreated 0.2%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.3% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.8%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was falling 1.8%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.4%.

SoundHound AI SOUN was down almost 8% in recent Friday premarket activity after a late Thursday regulatory filing showed that Chief Executive Keyvan Mohajer, Chief Operating Officer Michael Zagorsek, and Chief Technolgy Officer Timothy Stonehocker sold 48,837 shares, 24,105 shares and 5,276 shares of the company, respectively.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was 0.6% lower, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was up by 0.1%.

enCore Energy EU was up 0.5% pre-bell Friday after the company said it is slated to ring the Nasdaq Opening Bell on Monday.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) retreated marginally by 0.05%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down slightly, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.2% higher.

WisdomTree WT was up 1.3% before Friday's opening bell after the company reported the grant of a charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services, allowing it to operate as a limited-purpose trust company and offer fiduciary custody of digital assets and DFS-approved stablecoins through its new entity, WisdomTree Digital Trust.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.2% to $81.20 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas fell 0.8% at $1.67 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) gained 0.4%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.9% lower.

Gold futures for June retreated 0.8% to $2,188.30 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were down 1.1% to $24.74 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) were down 0.6%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.5% lower.