Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Higher Pre-Bell Monday Amid Interest Rate Cut Hopes

08:50 AM EST, 12/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.2% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.4% higher in Monday's premarket activity as investors hope the Federal Reserve will announce a rate cut this week.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.02%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.3% before the start of regular trading.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 0.4%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2.7% higher, Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 3.7%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) gained 0.1%.

Power Play:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) advanced 0.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was flat, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.7%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gained 0.1%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.3%.

Confluent (CFLT) shares were up more than 26% in recent premarket activity, while International Business Machines (IBM) stock was more than 1% lower after the companies said that IBM (IBM) will buy Confluent at an enterprise value of $11 billion.

Winners and Losers:

Industrial

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

ITT (ITT) stock was down more than 4% before the opening bell after the company said it launched an underwritten public offering of 7 million shares.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced 0.1%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was up 0.2%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) were inactive.

BioNTech (BNTX) stock was up more than 3% premarket after the company and OncoC4 said Saturday that their experimental therapy, gotistobart, showed a "meaningful" overall survival benefit in certain metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer patients during the non-pivotal stage of the global phase 3 trial.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) retreated by 0.1%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was down by 0.2%.

NextEra Energy (NEE) stock was up more than 2% before Monday's opening bell after NextEra Energy Resources said that it has agreed to acquire Symmetry Energy Solutions from Energy Capital Partners.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.2%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.2% lower.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD) shares were up more than 1% pre-bell after the company said Sunday it has agreed to acquire PT Buana Capital Sekuritas, an Indonesian brokerage, and PT Pedagang Aset Kripto, a licensed digital asset trader, as part of its broader push into Southeast Asia.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was down 0.1%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was flat. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) gained 0.1%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) lost 0.1%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was up 0.6%.

Tesla (TSLA) shares were down more than 1% pre-bell after Morgan Stanley downgraded the electric vehicle manufacturer to equalweight from overweight and said it expects an "EV winter" to affect demand and earnings across the EV sector.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.4% at $59.25 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 4.3% at $5.06 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) retreated 1.3%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) fell by 4%.

Gold futures for February were down by 0.1% at $4,238.10 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures retreated by 0.7% to $58.63 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained by 0.2%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.2% lower.

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