Exchange-Traded Funds Edge Higher, Equity Futures Mixed Pre-Bell Tuesday as Investors Await CPI Report for Rate Cut Cues

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 0.2% higher in Tuesday's premarket activity as investors anticipated the consumer inflation report, expected to influence the outlook for a potential US interest-rate cut.

US stock futures were mixed, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.03%, and Nasdaq futures advancing 0.1% before the start of regular trading.

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell to 91.2 in August from July's reading of 93.7 and the 91.3 level a year earlier.

US Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr is scheduled to speak at 10 am ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.1% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.2% lower.

Power Play:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) gained 0.1%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.1% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was flat, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell by 0.3%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) stock was down 5.2% in recent Tuesday premarket activity after the company said overnight it launched an underwritten registered public offering of $1.35 billion of its Series C mandatory convertible preferred shares to fund its planned acquisition of Juniper Networks (JNPR).

Winners and Losers:

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was down by 0.3%.

Kodiak Gas Services (KGS) stock was up 3.1% before Tuesday's opening bell after the company said late Monday that the EQT Infrastructure III and EQT Infrastructure IV funds had priced an underwritten public offering of about 6.1 million of Kodiak common shares at $25 per share.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) was flat. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT), the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) were inactive.

Owens & Minor (OMI) shares were up 3.1% premarket after the company said it formed a new partnership with Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google Cloud to support the capabilities of its QSight cloud-based clinical inventory management system.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) rose marginally by 0.02%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was inactive. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) gained 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) were inactive.

Vista Outdoor (VSTO) shares were up 3% pre-bell after the company said it is "continuing to engage" with MNC Capital about MNC's offer to buy Vista for $43 per share in cash.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) gained 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 1.2%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was inactive.

StepStone Group (STEP) shares were down more than 4% pre-bell Tuesday after the company said late Monday it priced an offering of 4.1 million shares of its Class A common stock at $50 per share.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) advanced marginally by 0.03% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.

Draganfly (DPRO) shares were 2.5% higher before the opening bell after the company said it launched a new drone for military and law enforcement applications.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined by 1.3% to reach $67.80 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas rose 2.3% to $2.22 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) was down nearly 1%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 3.8%.

Gold futures for December gained marginally by 0.03% to reach $2,533.50 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures were up 0.4% at $28.76 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) declined 0.1%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.4% higher.