04:48 PM EDT, 10/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed at all-time highs Wednesday as traders analyzed minutes from the Federal Reserve's September monetary policy meeting.

The Dow rose 1% to 42,512, while the S&P 500 increased 0.7% to 5,792. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6% to 18,291.6. Health care and technology led the gainers among sectors. Utilities and communication services closed lower, while real estate was little changed.

Some Federal Open Market Committee members favored a 25-basis-point interest rate cut last month, though eventually only Fed Governor Michelle Bowman voted against a more aggressive, half percentage point move, minutes from the FOMC's Sept. 17-18 meeting showed Wednesday.

The FOMC decided to lower its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis point to a range of 4.75% to 5% at the meeting, marking its first cut since March 2020.

"The minutes show that the September decision is not a sign that the FOMC is overly concerned about economic weakness or a signal of faster rate cuts to come," TD Economics said in a report.

Following last month's interest-rate decision, "a more gradual path back to a normal policy stance will likely be appropriate from here to best balance the risks to our dual-mandate goals," Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said.

The US two-year yield rose 4.3 basis points to 4.02%, while the 10-year rate increased 3.8 basis points to 4.07%.

In company news, Norwegian Cruise Line ( NCLH ) shares jumped nearly 11%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, as Citigroup upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $30 from $20.

Carnival (CCL) was the second-best performer on the S&P 500, up 7.1%, as Citigroup adjusted its price target on the cruise operator's stock to $28 from $25.

Boeing ( BA ) shares dropped 3.4%, the steepest decline on the Dow and among the worst on the S&P 500. The plane maker confirmed it withdrew its latest pay offer to striking workers following a breakdown in negotiations with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

In economic news, mortgage applications fell for the second consecutive week as the 30-year fixed rate for conforming loan balances rose to its highest point since August, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Official data are likely to show Thursday that US consumer inflation rose 0.1% sequentially and 2.3% annually in September, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. The US producer prices report for last month is scheduled to be released Friday.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil decreased 0.4% to $73.23 a barrel. Commercial crude stockpiles in the US grew by 5.8 million barrels to 422.7 million barrels through the week ended Friday, the Energy Information Administration said. The consensus was for a gain of 1.6 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg poll.

Gold fell 0.4% to $2,625.60 per troy ounce, while silver rose 0.4% to $30.72 per ounce.