In the latest premarket activity, the broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ($SPY) increased by 0.5%. Similarly, the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust ($QQQ) saw a gain of 0.9%. These movements were driven largely by Tesla's ($TSLA) impressive earnings report, which not only exceeded expectations but also provided optimistic guidance for the future.
As the market geared up for the day, US stock futures exhibited mixed behavior. S&P 500 Index futures rose by 0.5%, contrasting with a slight 0.1% dip in Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, while Nasdaq futures climbed by 0.9% ahead of the regular trading session. Today’s economic agenda includes the release of the weekly jobless claims bulletin alongside the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for September at 8:30 am ET.
Following that, October's S&P Global US PMI composite flash will be published at 9:45 am ET, with the September new home sales bulletin to follow at 10 am ET. Market participants will also pay attention to the weekly EIA natural gas supplies report, which is scheduled for 10:30 am ET, leading into the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for October at 11 am ET.
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack is anticipated to speak at 8:45 am ET, adding further insights into market sentiment. In cryptocurrency news, Bitcoin experienced a rise of 1.1% during the premarket session. The cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ($BITO) also showed a positive performance, increasing by 1%.
**Sector Highlights:** **Health Care:** The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLV) posted a gain of 0.2%, while the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ($VHT) rose by 0.3%. The iShares US Healthcare ETF ($IYH) and the iShares Biotechnology ETF ($IBB) remained inactive during this period. West Pharmaceutical Services ($WST) saw its shares leap by 10% in premarket trading, following the company's adjustment of its fiscal 2024 guidance upward.
**Consumer Sector:** The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLP) showed a modest increase of 0.1%, whereas the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund ($VDC) remained inactive. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ($IYK) also did not change, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLY) climbed by 1.8%.
The VanEck Retail ETF ($RTH) registered inactivity as well, but the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ($XRT) experienced a rise of 0.3%. In disappointing news, Darling Ingredients ($DAR) saw its stock drop by over 7% pre-bell after the company reported lower Q3 earnings and net sales. **Industrial Sector:** The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLI) advanced by 0.1%, while both the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ($VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.
Notably, United Parcel Service ($UPS) shares surged by over 7% following a report of increased Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue. **Technology Sector:** The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLK) saw a 0.6% increase, while the iShares US Technology ETF ($IYW) remained steady. The iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ($IGM.US) climbed slightly by 0.01%.
Among semiconductor ETFs, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ($XSD) remained unchanged, whereas the iShares Semiconductor ETF ($SOXX) gained 1.3%. In a contrasting report, WEX ($WEX) shares fell more than 5% in recent premarket activity after the company announced Q3 results that fell short of analyst expectations and reduced its full-year guidance.
**Financial Sector:** The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) rose by 0.3%, and the Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ($FAS.US) increased by 0.8%. However, its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ($FAZ), declined by 0.9%. KKR ($KKR) shares increased by 4.1% pre-bell as the company released figures showing higher Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue.
**Energy Sector:** The iShares US Energy ETF ($IYE) exhibited no activity, but the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ($XLE) advanced by 0.3%. Expro Group ($XPRO) shares declined by 2.3% ahead of the market opening, following an announcement that its Q3 adjusted earnings did not meet Capital IQ analysts’ expectations, combined with a narrowed 2024 revenue forecast.
**Commodities Market:** In commodity trading, front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 1.1%, reaching $71.57 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Concurrently, natural gas prices increased by 1.8% to $2.38 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) rose by 0.7%, but the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) experienced a slight decline of 0.1%.
In precious metals, gold futures for December gained 0.7%, trading at $2,748.80 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures advanced by 1.3% to reach $34.28 an ounce. The SPDR Gold Shares ($GLD) also rose by 0.7%, and the iShares Silver Trust ($SLV) increased by 1.1%..