Sector Update: Tech Stocks Decline Pre-Bell Tuesday

Grab Holdings is advancing its plans to acquire Indonesia's GoTo Group, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Grab has been valuing GoTo's contracts and operations, while the two companies and their shareholders have been assessing the possible structure and value of a deal, the sources told the news outlet.

Grab is weighing a valuation of more than $7 billion for GoTo, according to an earlier Bloomberg report.

Grab and GoTo did not immediately reply to requests for comment from MT Newswires.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was down 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust retreated 0.5% in Tuesday's premarket activity, as investors remain cautious as they await the Federal Reserve's policy meeting amid ongoing trade tensions and economic uncertainties.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.3% before the start of regular trading.

The Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting is slated to begin later in the day.

The housing starts and permits report and the import and export prices report, both for February, post at 8:30 am ET.

The February industrial production bulletin will be released at 9:15 am ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin (BTC/USD) was down by 2.2% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF was 2.3% lower.

Power Play:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund declined by 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares was down 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares was 0.7% higher.

FinVolution shares were up more than 10% pre-bell Tuesday after the company reported higher Q4 non-GAAP net profit and revenue late Monday.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund retreated 0.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF was 0.5% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF declined by 0.03%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF fell 0.3%.

Grab shares were up more than 3% in recent Tuesday premarket activity after Bloomberg reported the company has initiated due diligence on GoTo Group as it plans to acquire the company.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund was up 0.04%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund gained 0.2%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund lost 0.7%. The VanEck Retail ETF was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF was 0.3% lower.

Ralph Lauren shares were up more than 2% pre-bell after Goldman Sachs upgraded the apparel company to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $286 from $280.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund retreated 0.03%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund was inactive while the iShares US Healthcare ETF gained 0.9%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF was inactive.

STAAR Surgical stock was up 2% premarket after the company said late Monday it has named former Chief Financial Officer Deborah Andrews its interim finance chief, effective immediately.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund retreated 0.1% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund was flat and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.

Embraer stock was up more than 2% before the opening bell after the company said late Monday its board approved an up to 1.1 million share buyback plan.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund was up by 0.5%.

Flowco F stock was up 2% before Tuesday's opening bell after the company reported higher Q4 net revenue that beat analyst expectations compiled by FactSet.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 1.2% to $68.40 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas retreated 0.8% to $3.99 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund was up 1.5%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund declined 0.6%.

Gold futures for April advanced 1.1% to $3,037.60 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures gained 1.4% to $34.78 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares advanced 0.8%, and the iShares Silver Trust was 0.8% higher.