The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.1% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.1% lower in Wednesday's premarket activity amid CPI inflation data.

US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.1% before the start of regular trading.

US mortgage applications rose 3.2% in the week ended March 6, extending the prior week's gains despite a rise in mortgage rates, Mortgage Bankers Association data showed Wednesday.

US consumer prices gained 0.3% in February, in line with expectations and up from a 0.2% increase in January, while core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, increased 0.2%, matching forecasts and slowing from a 0.3% gain in the prior month.

The weekly EIA domestic petroleum inventories report will be released at 10:30 am.

In premarket activity, bitcoin was down by 0.8%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.9% lower, Ether ETF (EETH) retreated 0.8%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was flat.

Power Play:

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) advanced 0.6%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was up by 0.1%.

Kosmos Energy (KOS) stock was down more than 20% before the opening bell after the company said late Tuesday it priced an underwritten public offering of 97.5 million of its common shares at $1.90 apiece for gross proceeds of about $185.3 million.

Winners and Losers:

Technology

The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) gained 0.1%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.02% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was flat. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was up 0.4%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) declined by by 0.04%.

Oracle (ORCL) shares were up more than 9% in premarket activity after the company overnight reported higher fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Industrial

The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 0.2%, while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) retreated 0.1% and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was 0.8% lower.

UniFirst (UNF) stock was up more than 7% before the opening bell, while Cintas (CTAS) shares fell nearly 3% after the companies said Cintas will acquire UniFirst in a cash and stock deal valued at about $5.50 billion.

Financial

The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) declined by 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.9%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 1.2% lower.

Bread Financial (BFH) shares were up more than 3% pre-bell after the company reported end-of-period credit card and other loans of $18.08 billion at the end of February, up from $17.95 billion a year earlier.

Consumer

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was flat and the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) was down 1.2%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.04%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was 1.1% lower.

ATRenew (RERE) shares were up more than 2% pre-bell after the company reported higher Q4 adjusted net income and revenue.

Health Care

The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) retreated by 0.02%, the Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) advanced by 0.04%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) were inactive.

Haleon (HLN) stock was down more than 1% premarket after the company said it is investing 65 million British pounds ($87.3 million) in a new oral health manufacturing facility in Shanghai in a bid to expand production of brands such as Sensodyne and Parodontax in China.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 3.6% to $86.45 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas advanced by 2.8% to $3.10 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) increased by 0.04%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 1.6% higher.

Gold futures for March retreated by 1% to $5,188.70 an ounce on the Comex. Silver futures were down by 3.6% at $86.36 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) decreased by 0.1%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) fell by 2%.