08:15 AM EDT, 04/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.4% higher in Thursday's premarket activity, ahead of talks by key US Federal Reserve policymakers.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.3% before the start of regular trading.

The weekly jobless claims bulletin and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for April will be released at 8:30 am ET.

The March existing home sales and March Conference Board leading indicator bulletins post at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly EIA domestic natural gas supplies report at 10:30 am ET.

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman speaks at 9:05 am ET, New York Fed President John Williams at 9:15 am ET, and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic at 11 am ET and 5:45 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 1% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.2% higher.

Power Play:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was up 0.3%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was inactive. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) advanced marginally by 0.01%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) were inactive.

Duolingo ( DUOL ) traded up 6.3% pre-bell after the S&P Dow Jones Indices said late Wednesday that Duolingo ( DUOL ) is set to replace Cable One (CABO) in the S&P MidCap 400 index on April 22.

Winners and Losers:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced 0.04%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) and the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) were inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was flat.

NRx Pharmaceuticals' ( NRXP ) shares were down more than 23% premarket after the company disclosed plans for a stock offering.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) gained 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.1%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.3% lower.

Equifax's ( EFX ) shares were down 8.7% pre-bell Thursday after the company reported lower-than-expected Q1 sales late Wednesday, and its forecast for the full year also lagged market expectations.

Industrial

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

Rentokil Initial plc ( RTO ) shares fell 3.2% before the opening bell a day after the company reported higher year-over-year revenue for Q1.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) advanced 0.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was inactive, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 1.2%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.2%.

ICZOOM Group ( IZM ) shares were down more than 14% in recent Thursday premarket activity a day after the company canceled its proposed public offering.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was down by 0.3%.

TotalEnergies (TTE) was down 0.5% before Thursday's opening bell after Swiss pension fund investor group Ethos Foundation said shareholders are urging the oil and gas company to separate the roles of CEO and chairman.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down by 0.9% at $81.92 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas rose 3.6% to $1.76 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) lost 0.7%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was up 0.6%.

Gold futures for June advanced 0.3% to $2,396.20 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were up by 0.4% to $28.52 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained 0.4%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.5% higher.