The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) saw gains of 0.2%, while the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose by 0.1% on Thursday's premarket activity, setting the stage for the day's economic insights. In the realm of US stock futures, there was a positive trend, with S&P 500 Index futures climbing by 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.1% before the commencement of regular trading hours.
All eyes will be on the national October producer price index report and the weekly jobless claims bulletin set for release at 8:30 am ET, followed by an address from Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin at 9 am ET. Additional releases include the weekly EIA natural gas report at 10:30 am ET and the EIA petroleum status report at 11 am ET.
Crucially, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the Dallas Regional Chamber at 3 pm ET, with New York Fed President John Williams slated for a discussion at 4:45 pm ET. In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin surged by 1.9%, with the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) gaining 2% in premarket activity.
Turning to consumer sectors, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) remained inactive, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) experienced an uptick of 0.6%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was also inactive, with the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) slightly higher by 0.03%.
Notably, the VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) did not see any movements. In a concerning development, shares of ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Holding (ZK) plummeted more than 8% in premarket trading after the company disclosed a Q3 non-GAAP net loss late Wednesday. ZEEKR announced a strategic partnership with Geely entities to acquire a 50% stake in the Chinese-Swedish EV manufacturer Lynk for approximately 9 billion renminbi ($1.24 billion). Financial markets experienced some fluctuations as the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) climbed by 0.4%.
Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS.US) rebounded by 0.9%, while Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) saw a decline of 1%. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) shares rose by 3.7% pre-bell Thursday, following the release of better-than-expected fiscal H1 earnings. In the technology sector, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) edged up by 0.01%.
The iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) did not see any trading activity, though the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM.US) increased by 0.2%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was inactive while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) appreciated by 1%. Notably, ASML (ASML) shares surged by 3.4%, with the company reaffirming its sales forecast for 2030 between 44 billion euros ($46.23 billion) and 60 billion euros, alongside a gross margin prediction of approximately 56% to 60%. In the health care sector, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) increased by 0.1%.
The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) rose by 0.5%, whereas the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) remained inactive. In a significant downturn, BeiGene (BGNE) shares dropped by 14% ahead of market opening, following the announcement of its rebranding to BeOne Medicines. Industrial sector movements showed the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) remained flat, with the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) also inactive. EHang (EH) faced a 1.3% decrease before trading commenced after revealing a $22 million capital raise from Zhuhai Enpower Electric and an unidentified UAE-based institutional investor in a private investment in public equity deal. In energy, the iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) recorded a rise of 0.5%, in line with the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE), which also advanced by 0.5%. However, Ovintiv (OVV) shares decreased by 1.1% after announcing an agreement to acquire specific assets in Alberta Montney from Paramount Resources for $2.38 billion in cash. On the commodities front, the front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 0.3%, reaching $68.62 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Natural gas prices fell by 1.2% to settle at $2.95 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) experienced a rise of 1.1%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) saw a decrease of 2%. In precious metals, December gold futures declined by 1.1% to $2,558.30 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures fell by 2% to $30.07 an ounce.
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) dropped by 0.8%, while the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was nearly 1% lower..