US benchmark equity indexes were mostly lower ahead of Wednesday's close after official data showed that consumer inflation accelerated in January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% at 44,341.3, while the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,051.3. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to 19,653.1. Among sectors, energy saw the biggest drop, down 2.5%, while consumer staples was the sole gainer.

The US consumer price index increased 0.5% in January from 0.4% the month prior, while the annual measure accelerated to 3% from 2.9%. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy components, accelerated to 0.4% sequentially and 3.3% annually last month, topping Wall Street's views.

The US 10-year yield was up 9.8 basis points at 4.64%, while the two-year rate added 7.3 basis points to 4.36%.

Cisco Systems (CSCO), Trade Desk (TTD), Robinhood Markets (HOOD) and Reddit (RDDT) are among the companies scheduled to report financial results after the closing bell.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 2.7% to $71.33 a barrel.