03:51 PM EDT, 03/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were on track to close higher Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve held rates steady, with expectation of half a percentage point rate cuts in 2025.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 42,062.6, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.8% to 17,819.2. The S&P 500 was up 1.4% to 5690.5. All sectors were ahead with consumer discretionary and communication sectors posting largest gains.

Boeing ( BA ) was the top performer on the S&P 500 with shares up more than 7%. Chief Financial Officer Brian West said during a conference that Q1 cash outflow is expected to be smaller than previously projected due to ongoing stabilization of factory operations and a clearing out of its inventory.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) was up 6%. The company introduced Petascale storage server with the Nvidia Grace CPU Superchip and expanded its systems and rack solutions portfolio.

Intel ( INTC ) was the worst performer on the S&P 500, dropping 6.3%.

Organovo ( ONVO ) announced a 1-for-12 reverse stock split to help regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Its shares fell 35%.

The 10-year US Treasury yield lost 3.3 basis points to 4.3%, while the two-year rate was down 5.7 basis points to 4%.

May West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.5% at $67.08 a barrel.

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