08:46 AM EST, 03/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.6% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.8% higher in Wednesday's premarket activity, as traders hope that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony later today will include hints about interest rate cuts.

US equity futures were advancing, with the S&P futures up 0.5%, Dow futures ahead by 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.7% before the start of regular trading.

According to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications in the US rebounded by 9.7% in the week ended March 1, driven by lower mortgage rates, with refinancing and new home applications increasing by 8% and 11% respectively.

The February ADP employment report on Wednesday showed a rise of 140,000 jobs, slightly below the expected gain of 150,000, following a prior increase of 111,000.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will present his semi-annual testimony before the US House Financial Services Committee at 10 am ET.

The job openings and labor turnover survey for January, or JOLTS, and the wholesale inventories bulletin for February will also be released at 10 am ET.

The weekly EIA domestic oil inventories report is slated for a 10:30 am ET release.

The Beige Book, a compilation of economic and business reports from the 12 regional Federal Reserve branches, is set to be issued at 2 pm ET.

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly speaks at noon, and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari at 4:15 pm.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down 2.4% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 6.7% higher.

Power Play:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was up by 1%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.9% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was 0.01% lower. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gained 0.01%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 1.6%.

Airship AI Holdings ( AISP ) was up 56% in recent Wednesday premarket activity, a day after the company reported it received a "significant" contract award for an agency in the US Department of Justice.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced 0.2%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) and the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) were flat. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.5% higher.

Creative Medical Technology Holdings ( CELZ ) was up more than 31% premarket after the company said it received Orphan Drug Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration for CELZ-101, a therapy targeting allograft rejection in pancreatic islet cell transplantation.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.9%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was down by 0.8%.

Hippo Holdings ( HIPO/WS ) was up 25% pre-bell Wednesday after the company reported that its Q4 revenue rose 80% year-over-year to $64 million.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was up by 0.3%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was flat. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was 1.4% lower, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) gained 0.3%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was flat, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.6% lower.

JD.com ( JD ) traded up more than 14% pre-bell after the company reported Q4 financial results that beat analysts' estimates and announced a new $3 billion share repurchase program.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was 0.2% higher, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was up by 0.8%.

Borr Drilling ( BORR ) was up 5.7% before Wednesday's opening bell after the company reported that Drew Holdings, an affiliate of Borr's board chair Tor Olav Troim, purchased 200,000 common shares in Borr Drilling ( BORR ) on Tuesday, at an average price of $5.9962 per share, increasing Troim's and his affiliates' total ownership to 16,022,385 shares.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) gained 0.2% and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was up 1.3%, while the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.

Korn Ferry ( KFY ) gained 7.7% before the opening bell after the company reported fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings Wednesday of $1.07 per diluted share, up from $1.01 a year earlier.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 1.3% to $79.15 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up 0.8% at $1.97 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) was 1.2% higher, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 0.6%.

Gold futures for April slipped 0.02% to $2,141.40 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were 0.1% higher to $24.00 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) traded up 0.3%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.4% higher.