Exchange-Traded Funds, Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell Thursday Amid Trade Policy

The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was down 1.1% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ was 1.4% lower in Thursday’s premarket activity as lingering tariff uncertainties dampened investor sentiment.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 1.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.9%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 1.4% before the start of regular trading.

US layoff plans increased to 172,017 jobs in February, the highest monthly total since July 2020, driven by government sector cuts, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday.

The weekly jobless claims report, the January international trade in goods and services report and the Q4 productivity and costs bulletin will be released at 8:30 am ET.

The wholesale inventories report for January posts at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly EIA natural gas report at 10:30 am ET.

Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker speaks at 8:45 am ET, Fed Governor Christopher Waller 3:30 pm ET and Atlanta President Raphael Bostic at 7 pm ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 0.6% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF BITO was 0.4% higher.

Power Play:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK retreated 1.4%, and the iShares US Technology ETF IYW was 1.5% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF IGM was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF XSD fell 1.8%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX declined by 3%.

Allegro MicroSystems ALGM shares were up more than 8% in recent Thursday premarket activity after the company said it received an unsolicited acquisition offer from ON Semiconductor ON but determined that “the proposal was inadequate.” ON Semiconductor stock was down 4.8%.

Winners and Losers:

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLI retreated 1.1% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund VIS and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.

GMS GMS stock was down more than 6% before the opening bell after the company reported lower fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings and flat net sales.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund XLP was down 0.4%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund VDC slipped 0.1%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF IYK advanced 0.01%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY lost 1.1%. The VanEck Retail ETF RTH was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF XRT was 0.1% higher.

JD.com JD shares were up more than 6% pre-bell after the company posted higher Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF IYE was up 0.6%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE was 0.3% lower.

Venture Global VVG stock was down more than 5% before Thursday’s opening bell after the company’s Q4 earnings and revenue trailed FactSet analysts’ expectations.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV retreated 0.6%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund VHT was inactive while the iShares US Healthcare ETF IYH advanced 1.6%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF IBB was inactive.

BrightSpring Health Services BTSG stock was up more than 5% premarket after the company reported higher Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue in addition to lifting its fiscal 2025 sales guidance.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF was down 1%, Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares FAS fell 2.6%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares FAZ was 3% higher.

Bread Financial Holdings BFH shares were down 1.4% pre-bell Thursday after the company said late Wednesday it priced a $400 million offering of 8.375% fixed-rate reset subordinated notes due 2035 at 100% of the principal amount.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 0.8% to $66.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas fell 0.7% to $4.42 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund USO gained 0.4%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund UNG declined 0.1%.

Gold futures for April retreated 0.6% to $2,908.70 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures declined 0.5% to $32.97 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares GLD were down 0.8%, and the iShares Silver Trust SLV was 1.2% lower.