08:26 AM EDT, 10/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 0.4% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.8% higher in Thursday's premarket activity, ahead of a slew of economic data releasing before the opening bell.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.4%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.8% before the start of regular trading.

Economic data releasing at 8.30 am ET include the weekly jobless claims bulletin, September's retail sales report, and the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index for October.

The industrial production report for September is due at 9:15 am ET, followed by August's business inventories report and the housing market index for October at 10 am ET.

The weekly EIA domestic natural-gas supplies and petroleum inventories reports are scheduled to be released at 10:30 am ET and 11 am ET, respectively. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee is set to speak at 11 am ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down 1.3% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.1% lower.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) retreated 0.2%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was up 0.1% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) rose 0.2%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) was inactive.

Elevance Health ( ELV ) shares were down nearly 12% premarket after the company reported lower Q3 adjusted earnings and cut its guidance for 2024 adjusted EPS.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) rose 1.2%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 0.8% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) increased 2%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) rose by 2.6%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ) shares were up more than 9% in recent Thursday premarket activity after the company reported higher Q3 earnings and revenue.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) was down 0.2% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) gained 0.3%. The iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) was inactive.

Equifax ( EFX ) shares were down more than 4% before the opening bell after the company reported downbeat Q3 revenue and fiscal 2024 guidance.

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 ) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) gained 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) were inactive.

Brinker International ( EAT ) shares were down 2% pre-bell after Raymond James downgraded the company to market perform from outperform.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) gained 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was down 0.8%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 0.2% lower.

M&T Bank ( MTB ) stock was up 1.4% pre-bell Thursday after the company reported higher-than-expected Q3 net operating earnings and revenue.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was down by 0.1%.

Transocean ( RIG ) stock was up 1.2% before Thursday's opening bell after the company said that it received a $193 million contract for one of its deepwater drilling ships from an undisclosed operator in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 0.3% to $70.58 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas gained 0.1% to reach $2.37 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) declined marginally by 0.01%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was up 0.1%.

Gold futures for December rose 0.4% to $2,702.50 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures gained 0.2% to reach $32.05 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) advanced 0.4%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 0.2% higher.