08:28 AM EDT, 08/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 0.5% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.6% higher in Thursday's premarket activity, as the corporate earnings season heats up with Apple ( AAPL ) and Amazon ( AMZN ) due to report after-bell.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.5%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.6% before the start of regular trading.

Companies planned 25,885 job cuts in July, down from June's 48,786 but higher than 23,697 a year ago, with the technology and services sectors experiencing the most layoffs, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Thursday. Cost-cutting was the leading reason, accounting for 6,626 job cuts, followed by business closings with 5,113, while 8,033 job cuts had no specified reason.

The weekly jobless claims bulletin and the Q2 productivity and costs report will be released at 8:30 am ET.

The US manufacturing PMI July final posts at 9:45 am ET, followed by the ISM July manufacturing index and the June construction spending report at 10 am ET.

The EIA domestic natural gas report files at 10:30 am ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 1% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ( BITO ) was 0.8% lower.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) advanced 0.3%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) retreated marginally by 0.01% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) was 0.5% lower.

Moderna ( MRNA ) stock was down nearly 12% premarket after the company reported a narrowed Q2 loss and lower revenue.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) advanced 0.6%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was up 0.01%, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was 1.1% higher. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) rose nearly 1%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) was down 0.1%.

Arm (ARM) shares were down more than 8% in recent Thursday premarket activity after the company's forecast for fiscal Q2 non-GAAP diluted EPS trailed Capital IQ analysts' estimates.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was down 0.1%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was inactive. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) advanced 0.3%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) gained 0.1%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) were inactive.

Hershey's (HSY) stock traded down more than 4% pre-bell after the company reported lower Q2 financial results and cut its 2024 guidance.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) advanced marginally by 0.02%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was down 0.1%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was flat.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( MUFG ) shares were down 2.7% pre-bell Thursday after the company reported lower fiscal Q1 earnings.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) lost 0.1% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) and the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) were inactive.

AMETEK ( AME ) shares were down 2% before the opening bell after the company reported lower-than-expected Q2 net sales and cut its full-year adjusted earnings guidance.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was down 0.5%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was marginally lower by 0.04%.

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) stock was up nearly 1% before Thursday's opening bell after the company reported higher Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 0.7% to $78.46 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up 0.3% at $2.04 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) rose nearly 1%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was 0.3% lower.

Gold futures for December were up 0.3% at $2,481.10 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures gained 0.4% to reach $29.06 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) retreated 0.4%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) gained 0.2%.