01:45 PM EDT, 04/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose after midday Wednesday as a closely monitored services gauge unexpectedly fell, and Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, reiterated the central bank's dependence on data for policy decisions.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to 5,224.9, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5% to 16,317.7 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher to 39,217.6. Industrials and energy led the gainers with consumer staples and utilities the lone decliners.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management's US services index fell to 51.4 in March from 52.6 in February, versus expectations for an increase to 52.8 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. A reading above 50 means expansion in activity.

Automatic Data Processing said employment in the US private sector grew last month at the fastest pace since July. Private employment rose 184,000 in March, above the 150,000 gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. February's job gains were revised higher to 155,000 from 140,000.

Powell said the Federal Open Market Committee is making policy decisions "meeting by meeting."

"Given the strength of the economy and progress on inflation so far, we have time to let the incoming data guide our decisions on policy," Powell said Wednesday at a forum.

The probability the Fed will begin easing interest rates in June stood at 62% as of Wednesday afternoon, unchanged from a day earlier, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Gold futures for June delivery on Comex jumped 1.4% to $2,314.41 per ounce after earlier reaching a record $2,316 in anticipation of interest rate cuts from the Fed. Silver futures surged 4.4% to $27.07 per ounce.

The US 10-year yield was little changed at 4.37%, while the two-year rate slipped 1.6 basis points to 4.7%.

Investors are hyper-focused on Powell's comments regarding the FOMC's assessment of inflation and the outlook for policy, Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said in a note released before Powell's speech, but with the data consistently surprising to the upside coupled with accelerating price pressures, "the idea of reducing the policy firming put in place over the past two years seems...unlikely? Unsupported? Counterintuitive?"

In company news, Ulta Beauty ( ULTA ) shares dropped 14%, the biggest decline on the S&P 500, after the company said it expects Q1 comparable sales to be at the lower end of previous H1 guidance.

Intel ( INTC ) officials said the company's chip foundry business suffered a 2023 operating loss of $7 billion on sales of $18.9 billion, widening from a loss of $5.2 billion on $27.5 billion in sales a year earlier, news outlets reported. The shares dropped 7.2%, the biggest decline on the Nasdaq and the Dow.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 0.7% to $85.74 a barrel.