03:56 PM EDT, 07/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher ahead of Monday's close as markets awaited major corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision scheduled for later in the week.

The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were up 0.3% each at 17,418 and 5,477, respectively, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1% at 40,630.4. Among sectors, consumer discretionary led the gainers, while energy saw the steepest decline.

Welltower ( WELL ) and Chesapeake Energy ( CHK ) are among the companies scheduled to report their latest quarterly financial results after Monday's closing bell.

Mega-cap companies Apple ( AAPL ) , Microsoft ( MSFT ) , Meta Platforms ( META ) , and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) will report later in the week. Other big names include Intel ( INTC ) , Boeing ( BA ) , Pfizer ( PFE ) , AMD (AMD) and Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) .

The US 10-year yield dropped 2.8 basis points to 4.17%, while the two-year rate was unchanged at 4.39%.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday, with markets widely expecting it to hold its benchmark lending rate steady.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.7% to $75.86 a barrel.