01:06 PM EDT, 10/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose in midday trading on Wednesday amid gains in technology and gold ahead of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's September policy meeting.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8% to 22,966.1, with the S&P 500 up 0.5% to 6,747.2 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.3% higher at 46,726.8. Technology was the top gainer intraday, while consumer staples led the decliners.

Six out of seven members of the so-called Magnificent-7 stocks, including Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Amazon ( AMZN ) , rose.

Technology giants such as Microsoft ( MSFT ), Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), and Amazon ( AMZN ), riding the wave of the artificial intelligence boom, are poised to report "very strong" Q3 results, according to Wedbush Securities. "Our bullish view is that investors are still not fully appreciating the tidal wave of growth on the horizon from the $3 trillion of spending over the next 3 years."

Between June 30 and Sept. 30, Wall Street analysts raised the Q3 earnings per share estimate for S&P 500 firms to $67.41 from $67.32, according to FactSet. "In a typical quarter, analysts usually reduce earnings estimates during the quarter. During the past five years (20 quarters), the average decline in the bottom-up EPS estimate has been 1.4%."

Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes are set to be released later on Wednesday.

The widespread perception when the Fed cut rates was that the statement and Dot Plot projections were dovish-leaning, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference added a layer of cautiousness, defying expectations to signal a pre-set path for back-to-back cuts," ING said. "The minutes will tell us where the consensus sits within the FOMC on rates, jobs, and inflation."

Separately, the US government shutdown continued, with no clear end in sight for the political stalemate. The Senate is expected to vote for the sixth time on legislation to fund the government on Wednesday, USA Today reported. A pair of government funding bills, one backed by Democrats and another by Republicans, have failed five times to meet the Senate's 60-vote threshold for passing legislation, the news report said.

Gold futures soared 1.9% to $4,080.52, after scaling yet another peak of $4,080.70 earlier in the session.

In economic news, mortgage applications dropped 4.7% in the week ended Oct. 3 amid a decline in 30-year fixed mortgage rates, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. This follows a 12.7% slump in overall activity in the week ended Sept. 26. Applications for refinancing loans dived 8%.

Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year down 1.2 basis points to 4.12% while the two-year rate climbed one basis point to 3.58%.