08:27 AM EDT, 10/03/2024 (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 ahead of the looming jobs data.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.2% before the start of regular trading.

US companies planned 72,821 job cuts in September, down from August but significantly higher than the same month last year, with the technology and healthcare sectors leading layoffs, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday.

The weekly jobless claims bulletin will be released at 8:30 am ET.

The S&P Global US PMI composite final for September posts at 9:45 am, followed by the August factory orders release and the ISM Services Index for September at 10 am ET.

The weekly EIA natural gas report will be released at 10:30 am ET.

Federal Reserve Atlanta President Raphael Bostic and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari speak at 10:40 am ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 0.9% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.1% higher.

Power Play:

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLP ) was down 0.02%, 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 ) lost 0.5%. The VanEck Retail ETF ( RTH ) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF ( XRT ) was 0.4% lower.

Albany International ( AIN ) shares were down more than 2% premarket Thursday after the company lowered its fiscal 2024 outlook.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) and the iShares US Technology ETF ( IYW ) were flat, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF ( IGM ) was down 0.6%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF ( XSD ) was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) fell by 0.2%.

Wolfspeed ( WOLF ) stock was down more than 5% in recent Thursday premarket activity after Mizuho downgraded the company to underperform from neutral.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLV ) retreated 0.1%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ( VHT ) was down 0.03% while the iShares US Healthcare ETF ( IYH ) gained 0.4%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF ( IBB ) was inactive.

Pennant Group ( PNTG ) shares were down 1.3% premarket after the company said late Wednesday it priced an underwritten public offering of 3.5 million common shares at $31 apiece for expected gross proceeds of $108.5 million.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLI ) fell 0.2% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ( VIS ) and the iShares US Industrials ETF ( IYJ ) were inactive.

Southwest Airlines Co. ( LUV ) shares were up 1.5% before the opening bell after US Securities and Exchange Commission filings showed that Director Rakesh Gangwal bought 3.6 million company shares on Monday and Tuesday for $29-to-$30 per share, amounting to over $100 million.

Energy

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

Constellation Energy ( CEG ) was up 1.4% before Thursday's opening bell after RBC raised its price target to $272 from $214.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLF ) retreated 0.3%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares ( FAS ) was down 0.9%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares ( FAZ ) was 1% higher.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 1.7% to reach $71.32 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was up 2% at $2.94 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund ( USO ) rose 0.7%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund ( UNG ) declined 0.2%.

Gold futures for December slipped 0.1% to $2,667 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures fell 0.7% to $31.71 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares ( GLD ) lost 0.4%, and iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) was nearly 1% lower.