In the latest trading session, the broad market exchange-traded fund, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, experienced a slight uptick of 0.2%. Simultaneously, the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust noted an increase of 0.3% during Friday's premarket trading as global computer systems show signs of recovery following a significant technical outage that disrupted services across various sectors, including key financial institutions and transportation hubs. U.S.
stock futures displayed a mixed performance: S&P 500 Index futures rose by 0.1%, whereas Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped by 0.2%. Notably, Nasdaq futures gained 0.1% ahead of the start of the regular trading day. In notable news, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is scheduled to address the market at 10:40 AM ET, which could provide insights into monetary policy directions. Additionally, the domestic oil-and-gas rig count report from Baker Hughes is set for release at 1 PM ET, which may influence energy stocks and overall market trends.
Following this, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic will also speak at 1 PM ET. In the cryptocurrency realm, Bitcoin saw a rise of 0.7%, while the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF noted a 0.9% increase. **Sector Performance**: **Health Care**: The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund climbed by 0.4%.
Vanguard Health Care Index Fund rose by 0.2%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF remained inactive. However, the iShares Biotechnology ETF also reported no activity during this period. Notably, Augmedix shares surged by over 148% in premarket trading after the company confirmed its agreement to an all-cash acquisition by Commure, valued at approximately $139 million. **Technology**: Within the technology sector, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund saw a minor decline of 0.1%, while the iShares US Technology ETF advanced by 0.3%.
The iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF slightly increased by 0.03%. In the semiconductor arena, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF remained inactive, whereas the iShares Semiconductor ETF added 0.5%. Additionally, CrowdStrike shares plummeted nearly 11% following a reported issue with its Falcon Sensor software, affecting global operations. **Consumer Sector**: The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund rose by 0.3%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund remained inactive.
Other reports indicated that the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF remained inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund fell by 0.4%. The VanEck Retail ETF showed no movement, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF remained flat. **Autoliv** witnessed an almost 8% decline pre-bell after disclosing lower financial results for Q2. **Financial Sector**: The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund advanced 0.2%.
Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares recorded a similar increase of 0.2%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares, fell by 0.3%. Comerica shares faced a drop of over 6% before the market opened, attributed to lower Q2 results. **Energy Sector**: The iShares US Energy ETF remained inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund saw a marginal gain of 0.1%.
Schlumberger healthily climbed by 1.8% after announcing an increase in Q2 non-GAAP earnings alongside a revenue bump. **Industrial Sector**: The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund reported a slight increase of 0.03%, although both Vanguard Industrials Index Fund and iShares US Industrials ETF remained inactive.
Hexcel shares declined by 1.2% following Truist's decision to lower the company's price target from $81 to $78. **Commodities**: In commodities trading, the front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil experienced a decrease of 0.4%, settling at $82.51 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Natural gas prices reduced by 2.1%, reaching $2.08 per million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund saw an increase of 0.3%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund experienced a decline of 1.3%. Meanwhile, gold futures for August traded down by 1.7% at $2,414.40 an ounce, while silver futures fell by 2.8%, priced at $29.37 an ounce.
SPDR Gold Shares took a hit, retreating by 1.2%, and iShares Silver Trust declined by 2.2% as well..