02:22 PM EDT, 08/26/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as investors tracked trade developments and President Donald Trump's move to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her post.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2% at 21,487.1 after midday Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose 0.1% each to 45,309.8 and 6,447.3, respectively. Among sectors, industrials paced the gainers, while energy saw the biggest decline.

On Monday, Trump said that he could impose 200% tariffs on Chinese goods if the Asian country continues to curb rare-earth magnet exports, news outlets reported.

"They have to give us magnets," Trump reportedly said. "If they don't give us magnets, then we have to charge them 200% tariffs or something."

In a Monday social media post, Trump said he will implement "substantial additional tariffs" in retaliation against countries that impose digital taxes on US technology firms. He vowed to place export restrictions on American chips.

"Digital taxes, digital services legislation, and digital markets regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American technology," Trump wrote. "They also, outrageously, give a complete pass to China's largest tech companies. This must end."

US Treasury yields were lower intraday Tuesday, with the two-year rate falling 4.3 basis points to 3.69% and 10-year rate losing 1.5 basis points to 4.26%.

In a letter sent to Cook and shared on Truth Social Monday, Trump said he had determined "sufficient cause" to remove her from the Fed's board of governors, effective immediately. Trump said Cook may have made "false statements on one or more mortgage agreements."

Cook will file a lawsuit to prevent Trump from firing her, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing Cook's lawyer.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 2.3% at $63.33 a barrel intraday.

In economic news, US durable goods orders fell less than projected in July as weakness in the transportation equipment component persisted, official data showed.

The durable goods order report still had signs pointing to the US economy's underlying strength, BMO said.

"Business investment is off to a solid start in (the third quarter), following a strong first half of the year," BMO said. "Firms are going ahead with capital spending plans as trade tensions ease and uncertainty slowly subsides."

US home prices fell sequentially in June, while the annual growth rate was the slowest since the summer of 2023, S&P Global ( SPGI ) division S&P Dow Jones Indices said.

"For the first time in years, home prices are failing to keep pace with broader inflation," said Nicholas Godec, head of fixed income tradables and commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Separately, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said home prices fell 0.2% sequentially in June, following a 0.1% drop the previous month.

In company news, Eli Lilly ( LLY ) shares were up 4.3%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. The drugmaker reported another set of late-stage trial data of its investigational weight-loss pill, setting it up for seeking global regulatory clearance of the oral treatment.

AT&T ( T ) agreed to acquire certain wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar ( SATS ) in an all-cash deal worth about $23 billion, as the telecommunications giant looks to expand its spectrum portfolio and 5G coverage. EchoStar ( SATS ) shares surged nearly 75% intraday, while AT&T ( T ) fell 1.6%.

Brown-Forman (BF.A, BF.B) is expected to have faced a challenging fiscal first quarter amid pressures related to changes in distributors, RBC Capital Markets said Tuesday. The wine and spirits maker's class B shares were down 4.1%, among the worst performers on the S&P 500, while its class A shares fell 4%.

Gold was up 0.5% at $3,434.10 per troy ounce, while silver fell 0.2% to $38.61 per ounce.