08:52 AM EST, 03/05/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.2% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.3% lower in Thursday's premarket activity as the conflict in the Middle East continues.

US stock futures were lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.3% before the start of regular trading.

US layoff intentions slowed in February to 48,307 from 108,435 in January, with the technology and education sectors posting the largest job-cut expectations, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.

US initial jobless claims totaled 213,000, below expectations for 215,000 and unchanged from the prior week.

US nonfarm productivity increased at a 2.8% annual rate in Q4, exceeding expectations for a 1.9% gain but slowing from a 5.2% rise in Q3.

US import prices gained 0.2% in January, below expectations for a 0.3% increase and matching the prior month's gain.

US export prices rose 0.6% in January, above expectations for a 0.2% gain and in line with the increase recorded in the previous month.

Weekly natural gas stocks inventory data will be released at 10:30 am ET.

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is slated to speak on Thursday.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.4%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.4% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) fell by 1.7%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) retreated 0.02%.

Power Play:

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 0.04%, and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) was 0.1% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was down 0.7%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) declined by 0.4%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was 0.3% lower.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) shares were up more than 6% in Thursday's premarket activity after the company reported higher fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Winners and Losers:

Financial

The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) retreated by 0.4%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) fell by 1%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 0.7% higher.

Robinhood Markets ( HOOD ) shares were up more than 2% pre-bell after the company announced several new products and features to expand its wealth management services.

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.4%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF ( IYK ) were flat. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.4%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was flat.

Honda Motor ( HMC ) shares were down more than 2% pre-bell after the company said Thursday it intends to launch sales of two US-built vehicle models in Japan.

Health Care

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLV ) retreated by 0.4%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was down 0.3%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was i0.1% lower.

Medline (MDLN) stock was down more than 1% premarket after the company said late Wednesday that a secondary offering of its 75 million Class A common shares has been priced at $41 apiece.

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLI ) declined by 0.1%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) was flat, and the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) was inactive.

Plug Power ( PLUG ) stock was down more than 1% before the opening bell after closing the prior session with an 11.2% rise. The company said it will ring Friday's closing bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square, New York.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF ( IYE ) rose 1.9%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLE ) was up by 0.1%.

Canadian Natural Resources ( CNQ ) stock was up more than 1% before Thursday's opening bell after the company reported higher Q4 revenue.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained by 0.3% to reach $74.76 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas retreated by 0.7% to $3.03 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) declined by 0.2%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) was 1.6% lower.

Gold futures for March advanced 1.1% to $5,177.40 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures rose by 2.4% to $85.48 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) was up by 1.7%, and the iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) rose by 4.2%.