The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) were little changed in Thursday's premarket activity, as investors looked forward to the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut and awaited earnings.

US stock futures were also flat, with S&P 500 Index futures gaining 0.01%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.03%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.01% before the start of regular trading.

The wholesale inventories bulletin for August is slated to be released at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly EIA natural gas report at 10:30 am ET.

US Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr speaks at 12:45 pm ET at the Economic Club of Minnesota Luncheon, Minneapolis, while Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman is due to speak at 3:45 pm ET at the Community Bank Conference in Washington, DC.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.5%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.4% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) retreated 3.1%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was down by 0.2%.

Power Play:

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) advanced 0.2%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was marginally down by 0.01% and the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was 0.02% lower. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) retreated 0.4%.

Telomir Pharmaceuticals (TELO) shares were 20% higher before Thursday's opening bell, after the company said its new evaluations showed that Telomir-1 "significantly decreases" the viability of aggressive triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was marginally up by 0.04%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.3% higher, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.2%. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) added 0.7%, and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was down by 0.01%.

Plug Power (PLUG) shares were down nearly 6% before Thursday's bell, a day after the company said it signed a warrant inducement deal with a current investor for the immediate exercise of all of the company's outstanding warrants issued in March to buy roughly 185.4 million common shares at $2 apiece, for expected gross proceeds of approximately $370 million.

Consumer

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) was up 0.2%, and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Fund (VDC) gained 0.1%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) advanced 0.01%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) retreated 0.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 0.5% higher.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) stock was up 8% in recent Thursday premarket activity after the airline posted higher Q3 adjusted earnings and operating revenue from a year earlier.

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was inactive, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was 0.1% lower.

Cenovus Energy (CVE) stock was up 1.4% pre-bell Thursday, after Raymond James upgraded the company to strong buy from outperform and raised its price target to CA$32 from CA$30.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) advanced 0.1% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.

Hycroft Mining (HYMC) shares were down 1.5% in recent Thursday premarket activity, after the company said it is commencing a public underwritten offering of its class A common shares for gross proceeds of roughly $100 million.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) was flat. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was up 0.03%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.2% lower.

Citizens Financial Group (CFG) shares were 1.4% higher pre-bell Thursday, after BofA Securities upgraded the company to buy from neutral with a $65 price target.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil added 0.5% to $62.83 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas gained 0.9% to reach $3.36 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 0.7% higher, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) advanced by 1.5%.

Gold futures for December slipped 0.2% to $4,063.90 an ounce on the Comex, while silver futures were down by 0.6% at $48.69 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) retreated 0.1%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 1.3% higher.