The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.7%, and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) advanced 1.5% in Thursday's premarket activity, amid earnings reports by big technology companies.
US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.5%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 1% before the start of regular trading.
US initial jobless claims rose to a level of 197,000 in the week ended July 25 from an upwardly revised 188,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for a larger increase to 200,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
US economic growth, measured by gross domestic product, rose by 1.5% in Q2, after a 2.1% gain in Q1, below a 2.0% increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
Personal income rose by 0.2% in June following May's 0.7% gain, smaller than the expected 0.3% gain in a survey conducted by Bloomberg as of 7:35 am ET. The core PCE price index increased by 0.1%, below the 0.2% gain expected and following a 0.3% gain in May. The year-over-year rate dropped to 3.3% from 3.4% in the previous month.
The weekly natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 am ET.
In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 1.7%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2% higher, Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 1.7%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was down 0.6%.
Power Play:
Microsoft (MSFT) shares were up more than 9% after the company reported higher fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue.
Winners and Losers:
Industrial
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 1.3%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was inactive and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were up 2%.
AGCO (AGCO) was down 7% before the opening bell after the company reported lower-than-expected Q2 adjusted earnings and net sales.
Financial
The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) advanced 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.4%, while its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), was 0.3% lower.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) shares traded up 5% in early hours activity after the company reported higher Q2 adjusted earnings and gross income.
Consumer
The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 1.4%, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was up 1.3%, and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) gained 0.7%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.1% higher.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) shares were down 2.2% pre-bell even after the company reported higher Q2 underlying earnings and revenue.
Health Care
The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) retreated 1.4%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was down 0.4%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) gained 1.7%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 1.4%.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) was down 1.1% premarket even reporting higher Q2 non-GAAP earnings and revenue.
Energy
The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was up 2.8%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was down by 0.7%.
Shell (SHEL) was up more than 1% before market open after the company reported higher Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue.
Commodities
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil retreated by 0.6% to $83.99 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was down 1.1% to $2.69 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) decreased by 1.1%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.4% lower.
Gold futures for August advanced by 0.9% to $4,133.20 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures gained by 0.3% to $58.24 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was up by 0.6%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) rose by 1.1%.