The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ($SPY) experienced a notable increase of 0.8%, while the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust ($QQQ) saw an impressive rise of 1.5% in Thursday's premarket activity, largely fueled by a rally in technology stocks. This surge is indicative of strong investor interest in the tech sector, particularly as the market prepares for the upcoming economic data releases. U.S.
stock futures have shown positive momentum, with S&P 500 Index futures up by 0.8%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gaining 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures advancing 1.5% just before the beginning of regular trading hours. Investors are eagerly awaiting several key economic indicators that will be unveiled at 8:30 AM ET, including the August durable goods orders, the revised Q2 GDP analysis, the Q2 corporate profits release, and the weekly jobless claims report. At 9:20 AM ET, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver pre-recorded comments at the U.S.
Treasury Market conference, and market participants will be attentive to his insights, given the current economic climate. Further economic data will follow, including the August pending home sales index set for release at 10 AM ET, along with the weekly EIA natural gas report anticipated at 10:30 AM ET, and the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for September is expected at 11 AM ET. The day will also feature remarks from several Federal Reserve officials: Boston President Susan Collins at 9:10 AM ET, Governor Michelle Bowman at 9:15 AM ET, New York Fed President John Williams at 9:25 AM ET, Vice Chair Michael Barr and Governor Lisa Cook at 10:30 AM ET, and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari at 1 PM ET. In premarket trading, bitcoin surged by 1.9%, reflecting ongoing optimism in the cryptocurrency sector, while the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ($BITO) similarly increased by 1.9%.
In the consumer sector, the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLP) edged up slightly by 0.01%. Meanwhile, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund ($VDC) decreased by 0.2%. The iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF ($IYK) showed inactivity, but the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLY) gained 1%.
On the retail front, the VanEck Retail ETF ($RTH) remained inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ($XRT) saw an increase of 0.8%. However, CarMax ($KMX) faced challenges as its shares plummeted over 6% pre-bell following a report of lower fiscal Q2 revenue. In financial markets, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced by 0.3%.
Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ($FAS.US) was up 1%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ($FAZ), saw a decline of 1%. Amerant Bancorp ($AMTB) experienced a significant drop of nearly 7.4% in pre-bell trading after announcing a public offering of its Class A voting common shares. The health care sector also reported gains as the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLV) advanced 0.2%.
The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ($VHT) was similarly up by 0.2%, while the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF ($IYH) remained inactive. Notably, the iShares Biotechnology ETF ($IBB) gained 0.9%, indicating positive sentiment in biotechnology stocks. Evotec ($EVT) saw a surge of 5% pre-market after announcing a partnership with Novo Nordisk ($NOV) to develop off-the-shelf cell therapies for potential commercialization, highlighting exciting developments in the health sector. In the industrial space, the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLI) rose 0.4%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ($VIS) had no trading activity.
The iShares U.S. Industrials ETF (IYJ) also recorded a modest increase of 0.5%. Aramark ($ARMK) shares jumped 5% before the market opened, buoyed by reports from Bloomberg News regarding a possible acquisition of the food and facilities services provider by the French food caterer Sodexo. The technology sector continued to show promise, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) rising by 1.8%.
The iShares U.S. Technology ETF ($IYW) saw an increase of 1.5%, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ($IGM.US) moved up 0.9%. In the semiconductor space, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ($XSD) gained 2%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ($SOXX) rose by an impressive 3.4%. Notably, Nvidia ($NVDA) shares rose by 2.4% during recent premarket trading amid projections from Bain & Co.
that AI-related hardware and software revenue could soar to $990 billion by 2027. In the energy sector, however, the iShares U.S. Energy ETF ($IYE) dropped by 0.7%, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLE) fell by 1.6%. Valero Energy ($VLO) saw a decrease of 1.3% in its stock before Thursday's market open after Darling Ingredients ($DAR) announced its 50/50 joint venture will supply sustainable aviation fuel to Florida, including 18 million gallons of fuel produced from a Valero unit, impacting Valero's stock performance. Commodities trading saw front-month U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices decline by 2.8%, settling at $67.74 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas prices increased by 1.7%, reaching $2.68 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) fell by 3.2%, whereas the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) saw a gain of 1.3%.
In precious metals, December gold futures climbed 0.8% to $2,706.20 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures increased by 2.9% to $32.94 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ($GLD) rose by 0.9%, and iShares Silver Trust ($SLV) was 2.3% higher, contributing to bullish sentiment in the metals market..