08:27 AM EST, 11/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 0.2% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.1% higher in Thursday's premarket activity, ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech.

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 0.1% before the start of regular trading.

The national October producer price index bulletin and the weekly jobless claims bulletin will be released at 8:30 am ET.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin is slated to speak at 9 am ET.

The weekly EIA natural gas report posts at 10:30 am ET, and then the weekly EIA petroleum status report at 11 am ET.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is slated to speak at the Dallas Regional Chamber at 3 pm ET. New York Fed President John Williams will speak at 4:45 pm ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 1.9% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2% higher.

Power Play:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was inactive, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was up 0.6%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) was marginally higher by 0.03%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) were inactive.

ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Holding ( ZK ) shares were down more than 8% pre-bell after the company reported a Q3 non-GAAP net loss late Wednesday. ZEEKR said Thursday it has entered strategic deals with Geely entities to acquire a 50% stake in Chinese-Swedish EV maker Lynk for about 9 billion renminbi ($1.24 billion).

Winners and Losers:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced 0.4%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was up 0.9%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 1% lower.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( MUFG ) shares were up 3.7% pre-bell Thursday after the company reported higher fiscal H1 earnings.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was up marginally by 0.01%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was inactive, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was up 0.2%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 1%.

ASML ( ASML ) shares were up 3.4% in recent Thursday premarket activity after the company said Thursday it continues to expect sales in 2030 to range from 44 billion euros ($46.23 billion) to 60 billion euros, with a gross margin of about 56% to 60%.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) advanced 0.1%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was up 0.5% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was flat.

BeiGene ( BGNE ) stock was down 14% premarket after the company said it plans to change its name to BeOne Medicines.

Industrial

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

EHang ( EH ) stock was down 1.3% before the opening bell after the company said that it has raised $22 million from Zhuhai Enpower Electric and an unidentified UAE-based institutional investor in a private investment in public equity, or PIPE transaction.

Energy

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

Ovintiv ( OVV ) stock was down 1.1% before Thursday's opening bell after the company said that it agreed to acquire certain assets in Alberta Montney from Paramount Resources in an all-cash transaction of $2.38 billion.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 0.3% to reach $68.62 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas declined by 1.2% to $2.95 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) advanced by 1.1%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was down by 2%.

Gold futures for December were down 1.1% at $2,558.30 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures fell 2% to $30.07 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) declined by 0.8%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was nearly 1% lower.