08:32 AM EDT, 05/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY ) was up 0.7% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 1.1% higher in Thursday's premarket activity, as technology stocks rallied after NVIDIA's ( NVDA ) forecast-beating Q1 results.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.7%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 1.1% before the start of regular trading.

The weekly jobless claims report and the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for April will be released at 8:30 am ET.

The S&P US purchasing managers' index composite flash for May is slated for a 9:45 am ET release, followed by the April new home sales report at 10 am ET.

The EIA natural gas bulletin posts at 10:30 am ET, followed by the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for May at 11 am ET.

Federal Reserve Atlanta President Raphael Bostic speaks at 3 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 0.2% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF ( BITO ) was 0.7% higher.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) was down 0.3%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was down 0.8%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) and the iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) were inactive.

Cytokinetics ( CYTK ) shares traded down more than 14% pre-bell Thursday after the company said late Wednesday it priced an underwritten public offering of about 9.8 million common shares at $51 per share for expected gross proceeds of about $500 million.

Winners and Losers:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was up 0.2%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was down 0.7%. 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 ) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) was up 1.3%.

VF (VFC) shares fell nearly 13% in premarket activity Thursday after the company reported a surprise loss in fiscal Q4 and sales down more than forecast.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) was up 1.7%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLE ) was up by 0.3%.

Borr Drilling ( BORR ) was up nearly 10% before Thursday's opening bell after the company swung to Q1 earnings and reported higher Q1 operating revenue.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) gained 1.3%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 1.8% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was up 1.5%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) advanced 1.7%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) rose by 2.4%.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) shares were up 7% in premarket activity on Thursday after the company beat fiscal Q1 earnings and sales expectations.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) was up 0.1%, the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) was up 0.1% and the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) was down 0.2%.

Vertiv ( VRT ) gained 4% before the opening bell after the company said Wednesday it is launching an AI Hub, a data center product expected to support the growing demand for expert information and resources for AI-ready infrastructure.

Financial

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

Toronto-Dominion Bank ( MLWIQXX ) was up 2.3% pre-bell Thursday after the company reported higher year-over-year Q1 financial results.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 0.8% to $78.15 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up 0.04% to $2.843 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) was 1.1% higher, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) gained 2.5%.

Gold futures for August fell 0.9% to $2,371.10 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures retreated nearly 2% to $30.875 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) lost 0.5%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was 0.7% lower.