02:26 PM EST, 01/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes rallied intraday, while Treasury yields plunged as markets evaluated the latest consumer inflation report and earnings from major banks.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 2.3% at 19,475.5 after midday Wednesday, while the S&P 500 rose 1.8% to 5,944.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.7% to 43,223.6. All sectors were in the green, led by communication services, financials, and consumer discretionary.

In economic news, US consumer inflation accelerated in December on both sequential and annual bases, while core measures came in below Wall Street's estimates, government data showed.

On Tuesday, official data showed that US producer price growth unexpectedly decelerated on a sequential basis last month.

"There's still more inflation-fighting work for the (Federal Reserve) to do, which is why it has shifted plans to more slowly reduce the still-restrictive federal funds rate," BMO Capital Markets said Wednesday. "It will stand pat later this month, and may not resume cutting rates until it gets some clarity on the inflation pass-through of the tariffs that could begin rolling out next week."

Mortgage applications in the US soared even as interest rates rose for a fifth straight week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The US 10-year yield slumped 13.1 basis points to 4.66% intraday, while the two-year rate lost 9.7 basis points to 4.27%.

In company news, Goldman Sachs ( GS ) logged stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter growth amid an acceleration in investment banking fees. The company's shares jumped 5.9%, the top gainer on the Dow and among the best on the S&P 500.

Citigroup ( C ) was among the best performers on the S&P 500, up 7.4%, after the lender swung to a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, while revenue topped market estimates, aided by growth in each of its business segments.

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) posted better-than-projected fourth-quarter results. Its shares rose 2%, among the top Dow gainers.

Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) saw the biggest drop on the Nasdaq and the second-worst on the S&P 500, down 2.9%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 2.9% at $79.70 a barrel intraday.

Gold rose 1.2% to $2,715.80 per troy ounce, while silver surged 3.8% to $31.51 per ounce.