Healthcare stocks were rising premarket Thursday, with the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) 1.5% higher and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) advancing by 0.6%.
Biogen (BIIB) shares were up more than 1% after the company said the US Food and Drug Administration has granted breakthrough therapy designation for Salanersen to treat spinal muscular atrophy, a rare, genetic and neuromuscular disease.
Consumer stocks were advancing premarket Thursday, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) up 1.5% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) 0.8% higher.Amazon.com (AMZN) shares were up more than 1% after the company said it will invest over 10 billion euros ($11.63 billion) to upgrade European fulfillment centers with new robotics while adding 25,000 regional positions.
Technology stocks were falling pre-bell Thursday, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) down 2.1% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) 3.2% lower.Broadcom (AVGO) stock was down more than 14% after the company reported fiscal Q2 revenue that missed analysts' expectations.
Oil prices retreated early on Thursday as Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire, one of Iran's key demands for agreeing for a deal of its own to end the war with the United States and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery was last seen down US$2.98 to US$93.04 per barrel, while August Brent oil was down US$2.97 to US$94.84.Reuters reported Israel and Lebanon's truce agreement is contingent on the evacuation of Iran-backed Hezbollah militants leaving southern Lebanon and ending its fight against Israel, which has taken control of the country's south.The deal may raise the odds of the United States and Iran will come to an agreement to end their war, which is now in its fourth month and flared up again this week. Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the war, choking off most oil exports from the Persian Gulf nations that supplied a fifth of daily demand.The lack of Persian Gulf supply has left the Asian nations struggling to replace the lost barrels, while U.S. exports have surged, cutting into its inventories."Crude oil trades softer but remains near the upper end of Brent's recent USD 90-100 range after the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire announcement. The move follows another day of US and Iranian military action across the region. While flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain severely disrupted, global supply buffers continue to shrink. In the US, a sixth consecutive weekly inventory draw saw stockpiles at Cushing, the delivery hub for WTI futures, fall to 22.4 million barrels, edging closer to levels widely considered near the operational minimum," Saxo Bank noted.