In the latest premarket activity, the broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ($SPY) experienced a slight downturn, falling 0.2%. The actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust ($QQQ) also witnessed a decline of 0.3%. This movement comes in the wake of significant economic reports expected to be released later today.
US stock futures reflected a similar downward trend, with S&P 500 Index futures decreasing by 0.4%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid by 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures receded by 0.6% as the market awaited the commencement of regular trading. At 8:30 am ET, important data will be released, including February's producer price index report and the weekly jobless claims bulletin, which typically impacts market sentiment.
Following this, the revised fourth-quarter services survey will be available at 10 am ET, complemented by the weekly EIA natural-gas supplies report at 10:30 am ET. In the cryptocurrency space, bitcoin saw a marginal gain of 0.03%, while the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ($BITO) experienced a slight decline of 0.1% in premarket trading.
Observing sector-specific performances, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) remained unchanged. However, Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ($FAS.US) dipped by 0.1%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ($FAZ), held steady. In a notable movement, shares of First Financial Northwest ($FFNW) surged over 16% in pre-bell trading after the company announced that the National Credit Union Administration had approved the sale of its subsidiary, First Financial Northwest Bank, to Global Federal Credit Union.
In the health care sector, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLV) decreased by 0.1%. Conversely, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ($VHT) exhibited a modest increase of 0.4%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ($IYH) saw no trading activity, and the iShares Biotechnology ETF ($IBB) remained inactive as well.
An interesting turn was observed with Nyxoah ($NYXH), which climbed over 11% in premarket trading after trailing the previous session with a 2.2% decrease, despite reporting a wider Q4 operating loss and reduced revenue figures. In the consumer sector, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLP) reported a 0.2% gain, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund ($VDC) remained stable.
However, the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ($IYK) did not see any trades, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLY) slipped 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF ($RTH) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ($XRT) were also inactive. An exception in this sector was Dollar General ($DG.US), whose shares increased by over 5% in premarket trading, buoyed by the announcement of higher Q4 net sales that surpassed FactSet analyst predictions.
The technology sector was not immune to the downturn, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) falling 0.3%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ($IYW) decreasing by 0.2%. The iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ($IGM.US) also recorded a drop of 0.3%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ($XSD) remained inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ($SOXX) dropped by 0.1%.
There was, however, positive news for D-Wave Quantum ($QBTS), whose shares rose by more than 5% during Thursday's premarket trading following a positive fiscal Q1 revenue guidance. In the energy sector, the iShares US Energy ETF ($IYE) showed no trading activity. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLE) posted a slight decrease of 0.02%.
PBF Energy ($PBF) shares increased by 1.3% before Thursday's market open, following an announcement from the company regarding the pricing of $800 million in 9.875% senior notes due 2030 as part of a private offering, which was an increase from the previously announced $750 million. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLI) advanced slightly by 0.1%, while other notable funds including the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ($VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) saw no trading activity.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City ($CP) shares rose nearly 1% ahead of the market's opening, continuing from a 1.4% increase in Wednesday's close. This follows the announcement that its Canadian Pacific Railway subsidiary intends to issue $600 million of 4.80% notes due 2030 and an identical amount of 5.20% notes due 2035, which will be guaranteed by the parent company.
On the commodities front, front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.3% to settle at $67.47 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while natural gas prices decreased by 0.2% to $4.09 per million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) dipped 0.4%, whereas the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) fell by 1.5%.
In the precious metals market, April gold futures rose by 0.3% to $2,956.10 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures registered a minor gain of 0.02% to $33.75 an ounce. The SPDR Gold Shares ($GLD) increased by 0.5%, in contrast to the slight decline of 0.1% for the iShares Silver Trust ($SLV)..