Futures moderately increase after a rise in jobless claims

For trading in commodities that are difficult to exchange physically, futures were first developed. Corn and pork belly, for instance. The majority of these futures settle in cash rather than actual barrels of oil or pig bellies today, and you can still trade in them.

The trading of indices is a popular thing to do through futures. They can be more practical and less expensive than taking delivery of the actual stocks that make up the index. In premarket trading on Thursday, the widely traded SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) increased by almost 0.3 percent, and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust Series (QQQ) increased by around 0.6 percent.

Before the start of trade, the S&P 500 gained roughly 0.1 percent, helping to lift US stock futures slightly higher. The unexpected increase in unemployment claims, which jumped to 251,000 in the week ending July 16 from 244,000 the previous week, surprised traders because an analyst projection published by Bloomberg had predicted a fall to 240,000.

Leverage and capital efficiency are almost a guarantee when it comes to futures. A trader’s portfolio usually is entirely made up of stocks. Their desire to hold can sometimes undergo hedging. This occurs by using futures. Leverage and capital efficiency are other features of options, although the volatility of their prices also has an impact. You can thus strive to profit from options through them.

Statistics of popular futures

Front-month Natural gas prices were down by 2.5 percent, and US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were at $96.03 after falling by around 3.9 percent. The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) lost 0.30 percent, while the United States Oil Fund (USO) declined by 2.7 percent.

Silver was down by 2.4 percent and gold was down approximately 1.1 percent, although iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) both saw gains. A 0.5% increase happened in the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK). Both the iShares S&P North American Technology ETF (IGM) and the iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF (IYW) were unchanged.

Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (SOXX) and SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) were the two semiconductor ETFs to see the most growth. After reporting Q2 comparable earnings of 0.10 euros ($0.10) per diluted share, up from 0.09 euros a year earlier and ahead of the 0.08 euros average forecast in a Capital IQ survey of analysts, Nokia (NOK) shares increased by more than 7%.

The iShares US Industrials (IYJ) and the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) were both quiet, but Select Sector SPDR-Industrial (XLI) increased by 0.7 percent. After announcing adjusted fiscal Q2 earnings of $2.76 per diluted share, up from $2.46 a year earlier and beating analyst forecasts of $2.34, Danaher Corporation (DHR) saw a gain of approximately 5%.