The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.6% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) advanced 0.8% in Thursday's premarket activity as strong Nvidia (NVDA) earnings and early hints of a more dovish Fed stance boost investor confidence.

US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.7%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.9% before the start of regular trading.

The weekly jobless claims bulletin, the durable goods orders report for January, and the revised Q4 GDP report will be released at 8:30 am ET.

The pending home sales index for January posts at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly EIA natural gas report at 10:30 am ET.

The Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index for February posts at 11 am ET.

Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid speaks at 9:15 am ET, Fed Vice Chair Michael Barr at 10 am ET, Governor Michelle Bowman at 11:45 am ET, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack at 1:15 pm ET and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker at 3:15 pm ET.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 2.5% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 2.3% higher.

Power Play:

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) advanced 0.8%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 2.1%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 2.2% lower.

Root (ROOT) shares were up more than 18% pre-bell Thursday after the company swung to Q4 earnings amid higher revenue.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) gained 0.7%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.3% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.4%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gained 1.6%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 1.1%.

Marqeta (MQ) shares were up over 12% in recent Thursday premarket activity after the company reported a narrower Q4 loss and higher year-over-year revenue.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced 0.2%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) gained 0.2%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was inactive.

Viatris (VTRS) stock was down more than 7% premarket after the company reported lower Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was up 0.1%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) was down 0.2%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) gained 0.7%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was flat.

Bath & Body Works (BBWI) shares were down more than 3% pre-bell after the company reported lower fiscal Q4 revenue.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was up 0.3%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) gained 0.7%.

CMB.TECH (CMBT) stock was up 2.7% before Thursday's opening bell after the company reported higher-than-expected Q4 earnings and revenue.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) advanced 0.8% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.

BW LPG (BWLP) stock was down 2.2% before the opening bell after the company reported lower Q4 earnings and revenue.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 1.1% to $69.37 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas declined 0.7% to $3.93 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) was up 0.8%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 2.5%.

Gold futures for April fell 1.1% to $2,898.80 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures declined 0.3% to $32.47 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) were down 1.1%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.2% higher.