08:35 AM EDT, 03/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.1% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was 0.3% higher in Wednesday's premarket activity as investors weighed their options ahead of the Federal Reserve's announcement in the afternoon.

US stock futures were mixed, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipping 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.3% before the start of regular trading.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday that mortgage applications dropped by 1.6% in the week ended March 15, following a 7.1% increase the prior week, attributed to a rise in mortgage rates due to stronger-than-expected February inflation data.

The Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations bulletin for March will be released at 10 am ET, followed by the weekly EIA domestic oil inventories bulletin at 10:30 am ET.

The Federal Open Market Committee announcement is slated for 2 pm ET followed by a press conference with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at 2.30 pm ET.

In premarket action, bitcoin was down by 1.8% and the cryptocurrency fund ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) was 1.5% lower.

Power Play:

Energy

The iShares US Energy ETF (IYE) was 0.1% higher, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was down by 0.2%.

Enservco ( ENSV ) was up 18% before Wednesday's opening bell after the company said it agreed to acquire Buckshot Trucking in a cash-and-stock deal worth $5 million.

Winners and Losers:

Consumer

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

PDD Holdings ( PDD ) traded up 16% pre-bell after the company reported higher year-over-year Q4 financial results that beat analysts' expectations.

Industrial

Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) retreated 0.2% while the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) and iShares US Industrials ETF (IYJ) were inactive.

Blade Air Mobility ( BLDE ) gained 7% before the opening bell after the company said its board approved a share buyback plan of up to $20 million of its outstanding Class A common stock.

Health Care

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) gained 0.04%. The Vanguard Health Care Index Fund (VHT) was inactive while the iShares US Healthcare ETF (IYH) was also inactive. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was 0.2% down.

BioNTech (BNTX) was down 5% premarket after the company reported lower year-over-year Q4 financial results that trailed analysts estimates.

Technology

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was up by 0.2%, and the iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) was flat, while the iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) was inactive. Among semiconductor ETFs, SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was inactive, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rose by 0.6%.

JinkoSolar Holding ( JKS ) was down nearly 4% in recent Wednesday premarket activity after the Chinese solar panel company reported Q4 earnings of 0.54 renminbi ($0.08) per diluted American depositary share, down from 5.01 renminbi a year earlier.

Financial

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) retreated 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) retreated 0.03%, while its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was 0.1% higher.

Nasdaq (NDAQ) was down 3% pre-bell Wednesday after the company said late Tuesday that Borse Dubai announced a secondary offering of about 27 million Nasdaq shares priced at $59 apiece.

Commodities

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1% to $82.61 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas fell 1.3% at $1.72 per 1 million British Thermal Units. United States Oil Fund (USO) lost 0.7%, while the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was 0.3% higher.

Gold futures for April retreated 0.1% to $2,178.70 per ounce on the Comex, and silver futures were down by 0.4% to $25.03 an ounce. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) were down 0.2%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was 0.3% lower.