The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.6% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.6% lower in Thursday's premarket activity as traders react to renewed Middle East hostilities that have tightened oil supply expectations.
US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.7%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.9%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.7% before the start of regular trading.
US initial jobless claims totaled 213,000 in the latest week, compared with expectations for 215,000 and 214,000 in the prior week.
The US trade deficit narrowed to $54.5 billion in January, below forecasts for $66 billion, while the prior reading was revised to $72.9 billion.
US housing starts rose to an annual rate of 1.487 million in January, exceeding expectations for 1.341 million and above the revised 1.387 million pace in the prior month.
US building permits came in at an annual rate of 1.376 million in January, below expectations for 1.410 million and down from the revised 1.455 million rate previously reported.
The weekly EIA natural gas report is due at 10:30 am.
In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.2%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.1% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) retreated by 0.04%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was flat.
Power Play:
Industrial
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) retreated by 0.4%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was down 1% and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was inactive.
Firefly Aerospace (FLY) stock was up more than 12% before the opening bell after the company said late Wednesday it launched its Alpha Flight 7 Stairway to Seven mission from its space launch complex 2 at the Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Winners and Losers:
Financial
The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) retreated by 0.8%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 2.3%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 2.6% higher.
Deutsche Bank (DB) shares were down more than 5% pre-bell after the company said in its annual report that it has about 26 billion euros ($30 billion) in exposure to private credit, an asset class facing rising scrutiny as investors pull back and concerns grow about loan quality.
Technology
The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 0.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was flat, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was down 1.1%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was 1% lower, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) declined by 0.8%.
GlobalFoundries (GFS) shares were down more than 4% in premarket activity after the company said late Wednesday it priced a secondary public offering of 20 million shares at $42 apiece, offered by Mubadala Technology Investment, a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment.
Consumer
The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.2%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) and the iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) were inactive. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.5%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) declined by 0.6%.
Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) shares were up more than 2% pre-bell after the company posted higher-than-expected fiscal Q4 non-GAAP earnings and net sales.
Health Care
The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) declined by 0.4%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was down 0.6%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) were inactive.
Pharming (PHAR) stock was up more than 2% premarket after the company reported higher Q4 earnings and revenue.
Energy
The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) retreated by 0.01%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was marginally down by 0.04%.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) stock was up more than 2% before Thursday's opening bell after Wells Fargo and Piper Sandler upgraded it to overweight.
Commodities
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 6.1% to $92.56 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas retreated by 0.7% to $3.19 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) increased by 5.6%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.4% higher.
Gold futures for March advanced by 0.1% to $5,184.10 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures were up by 1.8% at $87.04 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) decreased by 0.3%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) gained by 0.9%.
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