The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.2% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.1% higher in Thursday's premarket activity amid a deluge of corporate earnings results and economic data.
US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.1% before the start of regular trading.
US layoff intentions rose in April, led by the technology sector due to increased use of AI, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.
US initial jobless claims rose to a level of 200,000 in the week ended May 2 from an upwardly revised 190,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for a larger increase to 205,000 in survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
Nonfarm productivity rose by 0.8% in Q1 after a downwardly revised 1.6% increase in Q4, above expectations for a 0.6% gain in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET, data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.
Construction spending data for February and March will be released at 10 am ET, followed by weekly natural gas stocks at 10:30 am ET.
The consumer credit data for March posts at 3 pm ET.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and New York Fed President John Williams are slated to speak on Thursday.
In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.6%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.8% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) retreated 1%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was flat.
Power Play:
Industrial
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 0.3%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was flat and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.
MDA Space (MDA) stock was up more than 8% before the opening bell after the company reported higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.
Winners and Losers:
Health Care
The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) advanced 0.1%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) retreated 0.3%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) slipped 1.5%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.8% higher.
Viatris (VTRS) stock was down more than 3% premarket after gaining 2.8% at the prior close. The company reported higher Q1 financial results and reaffirmed its 2026 guidance.
Financial
The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) retreated by 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.4% higher.
Carlyle (CG) shares were down more than 3% pre-bell after the company reported lower Q1 after-tax distributable earnings and revenue.
Technology
The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 0.01%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.03% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 0.7%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gained 0.03%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.4%.
Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) shares were up more than 2% in premarket activity after closing the prior session with a 2.8% rise. Bloomberg reported that Google has proposed changes to how it shows news results in its search engine to avoid further EU competition fines.
Consumer
The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.3%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was up 0.03%, while the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.7%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was 0.6% higher, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) retreated by 0.3%.
Tesla (TSLA) shares were up more than 1% pre-bell after Reuters reported the EV maker's China-made electric vehicle sales rose for a sixth consecutive month on a year-over-year basis.
Energy
The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was down 0.9%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was 1.1% lower.
Shell (SHEL) stock was down more than 1% before the opening bell after the company reported lower-than-expected Q1 revenue.
Commodities
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil retreated by 3.3% to $91.97 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down by 1% at $2.70 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) fell by 3.3%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.3% lower.
Gold futures for May gained by 1.2% to reach $4,748.30 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures advanced by 5.4% to $81.44 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was 1% higher, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) rose by 4.7%.