In the dynamics of the current financial landscape, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ($SPY) has showcased a modest increase of 0.3%. Similarly, the Invesco QQQ Trust ($QQQ) is also up by 0.3% during Friday's premarket trading. These movements indicate that investors are redirecting their focus towards pivotal economic data that could provide insights into the trajectory of inflation. US stock futures have also followed suit, with the S&P 500 Index futures inching up by 0.2%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures and Nasdaq futures similarly advanced by 0.2% each as the market prepared for the onset of regular trading hours. Attention will be on the ISM manufacturing index for December, scheduled for release at 10 am ET, along with the weekly EIA natural gas bulletin to follow at 10:30 am ET.
The market will also receive the weekly Baker Hughes oil-and-gas domestic rig count report at 1 pm ET. Federal Reserve Richmond President, Thomas Barkin, is slated to speak at 11 am ET, with San Francisco President Mary Daly following at 5:30 pm ET. Such events hold potential implications for market sentiment and investor behaviors. In an interesting turn, bitcoin has dipped by 0.6% in premarket activity, while the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ($BITO) mirrored this decline, also reducing by 0.6%. Turning our focus to sector performances, the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLI) saw a slight uptick of 0.2%.
However, the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ($VIS) alongside the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) remained inactive, indicating a lack of volatility in that sector. A noteworthy highlight comes from SuperCom ($SPCB), whose stock surged by more than 3% before the market opened. This increase follows the company's announcement on Thursday regarding the acquisition of two new contracts in Kentucky, aimed at enhancing their public safety technologies. Focusing on the health care sector, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLV) encountered a minor increase of 0.1%.
In contrast, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ($VHT) faced a slight retreat of 0.1%. The iShares US Healthcare ETF ($IYH) remained static, while the iShares Biotechnology ETF ($IBB) was inactive, reflecting a potential pause in trading activities within healthcare. Within consumer sectors, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLP) held steady, with the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund ($VDC) recording a modest rise of 0.2%.
Meanwhile, the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ($IYK) remained idle, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLY) increased by 0.1%. The VanEck Retail ETF ($RTH) was inactive, whereas the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ($XRT) witnessed a decrease of 1.1%. Carvana ($CVNA) encountered a significant decline of nearly 4% in premarket dealings.
This drop followed a report from short-seller Hindenburg Research, which claimed that Carvana manipulated its numbers through “related-party accounting games” during a turbulent market environment. In energy market news, the iShares US Energy ETF ($IYE) remained inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLE) reported a modest uptick of 0.2%.
MRC Global ($MRC.US) gained 3% as it disclosed a $125 million stock buyback program approval, anticipated to commence in Q2, which could signal confidence from the board in the company's future prospects. In the technology space, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) grew by 0.3%. The iShares US Technology ETF ($IYW) experienced a tiny rise of 0.04%, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ($IGM.US) rose by 0.6%.
Notably, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ($XSD) remained inactive, contrasting with the iShares Semiconductor ETF ($SOXX), which increased by 0.6%. Additionally, Roadzen ($RDZN) saw nearly a 2% rise in premarket trading, following its announcement of pricing an offering of 2.2 million shares at $2.25 per share, aggregating approximately $5 million in gross proceeds. In the financial sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) edged up by 0.2%.
The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ($FAS.US) gained 0.7%, in contrast to its counter, the Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ($FAZ), which slipped by 0.5%. The positive trend continued for Discover Financial Services ($DFS), whose shares were up 1% ahead of Friday's opening following Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo’s revisions of their price targets, increasing from $167 to $202 and from $160 to $185, respectively. In commodities, the front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined by 0.3%, priced at $72.94 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Meanwhile, natural gas prices fell sharply by 5% to $3.48 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) saw a minimal decrease of 0.1%, whereas the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) tumbled by 4.9%. On the precious metals front, gold futures for February rose slightly by 0.02%, now at $2,669.60 an ounce on the Comex.
Silver futures posted a nearly 1% increase, landing at $30.19 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ($GLD) slightly dipped by 0.1%, while the iShares Silver Trust ($SLV) gained 0.7%..