The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was down 0.4% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.5% lower in Wednesday's premarket activity as traders turn cautious ahead of an expected Supreme Court decision on tariffs.
US stock futures were also lower, with S&P 500 Index futures down 0.4%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.3%, and Nasdaq futures retreating 0.5% before the start of regular trading.
US mortgage applications rose 28.5% in the week ended Jan. 9 as a steep decline in borrowing costs boosted both refinancing and home-purchase demand, Mortgage Bankers Association data showed Wednesday.
The existing home sales report for December will be released at 10 am ET.
US retail sales rose 0.6% in November, beating expectations, with sales excluding autos up 0.5% and sales excluding autos and gas increasing 0.4%, both also topping forecasts, after prior-period figures were revised.
US producer prices gained 0.2% in November, matching expectations, while core prices were unchanged versus forecasts for a 0.2% increase, following gains of 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively, in October.
The weekly EIA domestic petroleum inventories report posts at 10:30 am, while the Fed's Beige Book, a compilation of economic and business reports from the 12 regional Fed branches, is due at 2 pm ET.
Federal Reserve Philadelphia President Anna Paulson, Governor Stephen Miran, Atlanta President Raphael Bostic, Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari, and New York President John Williams speak on Wednesday.
In premarket activity, bitcoin was up by 0.5%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 0.5% higher, Ether ETF (EETH) advanced 2.6%, and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) gained 2.8%.
Power Play:
Consumer
The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) was down 0.5%, while the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) fell 1.7%. The iShares US Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) was inactive. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) lost 0.6%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) was inactive, while the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) gained 0.1%.
Trip.com Group (TCOM) shares were down more than 14% pre-bell after the company said it had received an investigation notice from China's State Administration for Market Regulations.
Winners and Losers:
Health Care
The State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) retreated by 0.01%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) gained 0.02%, while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.2% lower.
Astrazeneca (AZN) stock was up more than 1% premarket after the company said it had acquired Modella AI.
Financial
The State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) retreated 0.2%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was down 0.5%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.6% higher.
Citigroup (C) shares were up more than 1% pre-bell after the company reported higher Q4 revenue.
Industrial
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) advanced 0.01% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) gained 0.01% and the iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) was 0.6% lower.
CNH Industrial (CNH) stock was up more than 1% before the opening bell after Goldman Sachs upgraded the company's stock to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $13 from $10.50.
Technology
The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) retreated 0.6%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was 0.03% lower, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was up 0.5%. Among semiconductor ETFs, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was down 0.6%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) declined by 0.6%.
Broadcom (AVGO) declined by 1%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) retreated by 2.4%, Fortinet (FTNT) fell 3.6%, and Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) down 2.4% after Reuters reported that they are among companies whose cybersecurity software has been banned by Chinese authorities.
Energy
The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) gained by 0.4%, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) was up by 0.6%.
BP (BP) stock was down nearly 1% before Wednesday's opening bell after the company said it expects post-tax impairment charges ranging between $4 billion and $5 billion in its Q4 earnings, primarily related to its gas and low-carbon energy segment.
Commodities
Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.2% at $61.88 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas fell 4.5% to $3.27 per 1 million British Thermal Units. The United States Oil Fund (USO) gained by 1.3%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 4.3% lower.
Gold futures for February gained by 0.8% to reach $4,637.20 an ounce on the Comex, and silver futures rose by 6.4% to $91.87 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) advanced by 0.9%, and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 5.7% higher.
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