08:24 AM EDT, 03/28/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down by 0.1% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was flat in Thursday's premarket activity.

US stock futures were lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.04%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.02%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.05% before the start of regular trading.

The weekly jobless claims, the revised Q4 GDP, and Q4 corporate profits reports will all be released at 8:30 am ET.

The Chicago PMI is slated to release at 9:45 am ET, followed by the University of Michigan's March consumer sentiment bulletin, and the February pending home sales index, at 10 am ET.

The weekly EIA domestic natural gas supplies report posts at 10:30 am ET, followed by the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for March at 11 am ET.

The weekly Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was up by 2.9% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 3.1% higher.

Health Care

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

Avalo Therapeutics ( AVTX ) shares were up more than 325% premarket after the company said late Wednesday that it acquired closely held AlmataBio and the phase 2-ready anti-IL-1beta mAb, or AVTX-009, to treat hidradenitis suppurativa, a severe autoimmune disease.

Winners and Losers:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was up 0.1%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was nearly 0.1% higher. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) was flat. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was marginally higher by 0.03%

MillerKnoll's ( MLKN ) shares were down almost 16% following the company's fiscal Q3 results late Wednesday which showed that sales slowed more than the forecast and guidance for the next quarter missed market expectations.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) advanced 0.1% and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was up 0.2%, while the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was 1.8% lower.

Chemours ( CC ) shares were down more than 9% before the opening bell after the company said that it identified four material weaknesses in its internal financial controls after its audit committee completed a previously announced review of working capital actions.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) retreated 0.2%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.2% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell by 0.3%.

TD Synnex ( SNX ) was down 4.5% in recent Thursday premarket activity a day after the company said that a previously announced secondary public offering has been upsized to 10.5 million shares.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) rose 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.3%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was flat.

Better Home & Finance ( BETR ) was down 0.8% pre-bell Thursday after the company reported a Q4 GAAP net loss of $59 million. Better became a public company in August following ifs merger with a special-purpose acquisition company.

Energy

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

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 1.4% at $82.50 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas fell 0.9% at $1.70 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) advanced 0.9%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.4% lower.

Gold futures for June were nearly 0.8% higher to $2,229.30 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were down 0.5% to $24.64 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained 0.7%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) retreated 0.2%.