04:25 PM EDT, 03/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed higher on Wednesday as investors responded to a steady interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4% to 17,743.5, while the S&P 500 increased 1.1% to 5,674.4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9% to 41,950.4. All sectors were ahead, with consumer discretionary and energy sectors posting the largest gains.

US Treasury yields were lower with the 10-year rate losing about 3.8 basis points to 4.3% and the two-year rate was down 6.1 basis points to 4%.

May West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 0.4% to $67.04 a barrel Wednesday.

The Federal Open Market Committee does not need to rush to lower interest rates, particularly due to the heightened uncertainty around the economy in general and tariffs particularly, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday in a press conference after the FOMC meeting. The FOMC held the current range of the federal funds rate at 4.25% to 4.50%.

In economic news, mortgage rate applications in the US dropped last week as lending rates increased for the first time in nine weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.

"This increase in rates led to a decrease in refinance volume. However, purchase application volume inched up to its highest level in six weeks, led by a 3% increase in FHA purchase applications," said Mortgage Bankers Association Senior Vice President Mike Fratantoni.

In company news, Boeing ( BA ) was the top performer on the S&P 500 with shares up 6.9%. The company's CFO said during a Bank of America conference that Q1 cash outflow is expected to be smaller than previously projected thanks to ongoing stabilization of factory operations and a clearing out of its inventory.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) was up 5.8%. 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 6.9%.

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. The company's shares fell 32%.

Gold gained 0.5% to $3,056.60 per troy ounce, while silver was down 1% to $34.45 per troy ounce.