01:52 PM EDT, 05/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as traders awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting and tech bellwether Nvidia's ( NVDA ) results.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.2% at 26,185.8 after midday Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.1% to 49,894.5. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 7,417.3. Among sectors, consumer discretionary paced the gainers, while energy saw the biggest drop.

The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to publish minutes of its most recent policy meeting at 2 pm. Last month, the central bank held interest rates steady, saying the Middle East conflict is fueling uncertainty around the US economic outlook.

Three FOMC officials opposed including an easing bias in the April monetary policy statement.

"The minutes will no doubt offer further insight into the conversation and discussion around the latest statement language, which led to a plethora of dissents, as well as the committee's assessment of current conditions amid the ongoing international conflict and the outlook for policy and rates in the coming months," Stifel said in a note.

Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) were up 1.8% intraday, with the chipmaker scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter results after the closing bell.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) sales are expected to outperform market projections, BofA Securities said in a note e-mailed Tuesday.

"Markets are still supported by (artificial intelligence) expectations, but higher yields are putting pressure on expensive growth stocks, making Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings later today one of the week's most important catalysts for the broader technology sector," Saxo Bank said in a report Wednesday.

Bond yields have surged amid mounting concerns about inflation. Higher yields drove a sell-off in stocks on Tuesday, according to Macquarie.

Treasury yields were down intraday Wednesday, with the 10-year yield rate declining 7.9 basis points to 4.59% and the the two-year rate retreating 5.7 basis points to 4.07%.

"The state of play now and following the end of earnings season, is that stock indexes are likely to remain sensitive to what happens to long-term yields," Macquarie said in note Wednesday. "Should yields go higher (for whatever reason), stocks will slip further."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 6.1% to $97.80 a barrel intraday, while Brent fell 6% to $104.60.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiations with Iran had reached the final stages, though he warned of further attacks if Tehran backs out, according to a Reuters report.

"Either have a deal or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won't happen," Trump was quoted as saying in the report.

In other company news, Hasbro ( HAS ) reported a first-quarter operating loss for the consumer products division even as the toymaker delivered stronger-than-expected results at the consolidated level. The stock was down 8.3% intraday, the worst performer on the S&P 500.

Target ( TGT ) shares fell 3.8%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500. The retailer lifted its full-year sales growth outlook as it recorded higher-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results.

TJX (TJX) raised its full-year outlook after posting stronger-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results, with comparable sales rising across all segments. The stock was advancing by 6.2%.

Gold was up 0.6% at $4,536.50 per troy ounce, while silver rose 1.4% to $76.24 per ounce.