In the latest premarket activity, the broadly known exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ($SPY) experienced a slight decrease of 0.1%, while the actively-traded Invesco QQQ Trust ($QQQ) fell by 0.2%. Traders are keenly awaiting economic data that will help determine the prospects for a possible interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. US stock futures mirrored this decline, with the S&P 500 Index futures dipping by 0.04%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edging down 0.01%, and Nasdaq futures slipped of 0.2% before markets opened. In a significant development, US mortgage applications surged by 11% during the week ending September 20, marking the highest level in over two years.
This surge is primarily attributed to an eighth consecutive weekly decline in mortgage rates, as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinancing applications saw a robust increase of 20%, and new purchase applications experienced a seasonally adjusted increase of 1%. Investors are particularly attentive as the new home sales bulletin is set to be released at 10 am ET, which will be followed closely by the weekly EIA petroleum status report at 10:30 am ET.
Additionally, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's Survey of Business Uncertainty for September will be unveiled at 11 am ET, coupled with a speech from Fed Governor Adriana Kugler at 4 pm ET. As for the cryptocurrency sector, bitcoin recorded a nearly 1% drop, with the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ($BITO) following suit, declining by 1% during premarket trading. Looking into the energy sector, the iShares US Energy ETF ($IYE) showed a modest increase of 0.01%, although the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLE) saw a minor decline of 0.2%.
Notably, Vertex Energy's ($VTNR) shares plummeted over 54% in premarket trading after the company announced its commencement of Chapter 11 “cases” in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Turning to technology, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) experienced a retreat of 0.2%.
The iShares US Technology ETF ($IYW) saw a marginal increase of 0.02%, and the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ($IGM.US) climbed by 0.04%. Among the semiconductor exchange-traded funds, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ($XSD) remained inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ($SOXX) retreated by 0.3%. In more company-specific news, Banzai International ($BNZI) saw its shares drop by over 30% in premarket activity following an announcement of an agreement to sell approximately 1.2 million common shares and warrants targeting up to 2.4 million shares at a price of $4.25 per share, in a private placement valued at around $5 million. In the healthcare sector, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLV) was down 0.02%.
The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ($VHT) remained stable while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ($IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF ($IBB) also remained flat. However, Emergent BioSolutions ($EBS.US) saw a significant pre-bell increase of over 12% following an announcement of obtaining approximately $400 million in orders for its smallpox and mpox vaccine products. In the industrial sector, the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLI) remained flat, with the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ($VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) also inactive. Shares of Southland Holdings ($SLND) rose by more than 10% before the market opened after the company's subsidiary, Oscar Renda Contracting, was awarded a hefty $132 million contract to construct a new water treatment plant for the Bureau of Reclamation. In consumer goods, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLP) was flat, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund ($VDC) showed inactivity.
The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ($IYK) rose by 0.2%, contrasting the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLY), which dropped by 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF ($RTH) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ($XRT) remained inactive. Trip.com’s ($TCOM) stock fell by 5% pre-bell following reports that investor Prosus completely liquidated its stake in the Chinese online travel agency for $743 million through a block trade. Finally, in the financial sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) gained 0.1%.
The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ($FAS.US) rose by 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ($FAZ), fell by 0.5%. BankUnited ($BKU) announced that Beth Hosen has been appointed as the head of treasury management, although the company’s shares dipped by 1.1% in pre-bell trading. In commodities, front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped by 1.3% to $70.66 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In contrast, natural gas saw a rise of 1.8% at $2.60 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) declined by 1.2%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) increased by 0.3%. Gold futures for December rose by 0.1% to $2,679.20 an ounce on the Comex, whereas silver futures fell by 0.9% to $32.15 an ounce.
SPDR Gold Shares ($GLD) decreased by 0.3%, and the iShares Silver Trust ($SLV) was down by 1%..