08:11 AM EDT, 03/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.6% lower in Monday's premarket activity, as the market takes a breather after last week's rally.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.6% before the start of regular trading.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks at 8:25 am ET, followed by the release of the February Chicago Fed National Activity Index at 8:30 am ET. The new home sales report for February will be released at 10 am ET, followed by the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey for March posts at 10:30 am.

Fed Governor Lisa Cook speaks at 10:30 am ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 2% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 4.7% higher.

Power Play:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) retreated 0.3%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.7%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.5% higher.

Digital World Acquisition ( DWAC ) shares were up 5% pre-bell Monday, partially recovering from the nearly 14% loss at Friday's closing after the company said its shareholders approved the planned merger with Trump Media & Technology Group.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

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

Aurora Cannabis ( ACB ) shares were off about 1% and Canopy Growth ( CGC ) was nearly 3% higher premarket after Germany on Friday approved the partial legalization of cannabis for personal use, effective April 1.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was 0.2% lower, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was inactive. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was 1.7% higher, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) lost 0.3%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) advanced nearly 1%.

Tesla (TSLA) traded down 1.3% pre-bell after Reuters reported that its Chinese rival BYD has lowered the price of its electric Seal sedan by about 5%.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) lost 0.1% and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) gained 0.1%, while the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.

United Airlines (UAL) fell 3.8% before the opening bell after multiple media reports that the US Federal Aviation Administration is discussing the possibility of blocking the airline from adding new routes or using new aircraft.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) retreated 0.7%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.3% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 0.3%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gained 0.2%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell by 1.1%.

Intel ( INTC ) and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) were down more than 3% in recent Monday premarket activity following a Sunday report by the Financial Times stating that China plans to restrict the usage of their chips and servers in government computers, as the country gradually replaces US chips and foreign-made database software with domestic alternatives.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) slipped by 0.04%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was up by 0.3%.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained nearly 0.5% to $80.99 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas fell 3.4% at $1.60 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) gained 0.2%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 2.1% lower.

Gold futures for June were 0.6% higher to $2,193.90 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were up 0.2% to $24.89 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained 0.3%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) advanced 0.1%.