-- 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 0.01% higher in Wednesday's premarket activity as investors shift focus from geopolitical risks to earnings updates.
US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.01%before the start of regular trading.
US mortgage applications increased 1.8% in the week ended April 10 as a rise in refinancing tied to lower rates offset a slight decline in purchase activity, Mortgage Bankers Association data showed Wednesday.
US import prices increased 0.8% in March, below expectations, as a surge in petroleum costs drove most of the gain, government data showed. Excluding fuel, import prices edged up 0.1%, missing forecasts and slowing from the prior month.
The National Association of Home Builders sentiment reading for April is due to be released at 10 am ET, followed by weekly petroleum stocks data at 10:30 am ET.
The Fed's Beige Book report is due to be released at 2 pm ET.
Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is slated to speak on Wednesday.
In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.1%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was flat, the Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 0.9%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) rose 11.6%.
Power Play:
Energy
The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) gained 0.2%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was down by 0.2%.
DHT (DHT) stock was up more than 4% before Wednesday's opening bell after the company said it expects Q1 time charter equivalent earnings of $78,800 per day.
Winners and Losers:
Consumer
The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.1% and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was flat. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) gained 0.1%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.1% higher.
Stellantis (STLA) shares were up more than 2% pre-bell after the company said its Q1 estimated consolidated shipments totaled 1.4 million units, up 12% from a year earlier.
Health Care
The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 0.1%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was up 0.7%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was flat. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was inactive.
Spyre Therapeutics (SYRE) stock was up more than 2% premarket after the company said late Tuesday it priced its upsized underwritten public offering of 6.5 million shares at $62 apiece for gross proceeds of about $403 million.
Financial
The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advanced 0.3%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.9%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.8% lower.
Morgan Stanley (MS) shares were up more than 2% pre-bell after the company posted higher Q1 earnings and revenue.
Technology
The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 0.04%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was flat, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.02%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gained 0.02%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) retreated by 0.5%.
ASML Holding (ASML) shares were down more than 2% in premarket activity after the company reported higher Q1 earnings and sales.
Industrial
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 0.1%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) gained 0.3% and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.
Commodities
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained by 0.4% to reach $91.66 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas advanced by 0.9% to $2.62 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) increased by 0.1%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.1% lower.
Gold futures for May were down by 0.3% at $4,834.40 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures declined by 0.8% to $78.95 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was 2.2% higher, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) advanced by 5.5%.