02:07 PM EST, 03/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as the White House granted a one-month tariff exemption to automakers.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.1% at 18,478.4 after midday Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to 42,899.1. The S&P 500 increased 0.8% to 5,826. Among sectors, materials paced the gainers, while energy saw the biggest drop.

President Donald Trump is exempting automakers from tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month, CNBC and Bloomberg reported. Trump recently met with leaders of certain US automakers, which urged him to waive 25% tariffs on vehicles that comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement's rules of origin, according to the CNBC report.

US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the 10-year rate rising 6.7 basis points to 4.28% and the two-year rate gaining 2.3 basis points to 3.98%.

In economic news, two surveys provided mixed signals regarding the US services sector in February, as the Institute for Supply Management's data showed activity unexpectedly picking up pace, while S&P Global ( SPGI ) indicated a growth slowdown.

Both reports, however, pointed to uncertainty around Trump's policies on trade tariffs.

Employment growth in the US private sector eased last month to its slowest pace since July, Automatic Data Processing ( ADP ) reported.

"Policy uncertainty and a slowdown in consumer spending might have led to layoffs or a slowdown in hiring last month," ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report Friday that the US added 160,000 nonfarm jobs for February, which would mark a rise from a 143,000 gain posted for the month prior, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 3.3% at $65.99 a barrel intraday Wednesday.

In company news, Brown-Forman's (BF.A, BF.B) fiscal third-quarter earnings topped market estimates, but revenue unexpectedly declined year over year. The wine and spirits maker reiterated its full-year outlook. Its class A and B shares jumped more than 9.5% each, among the top gainers on the S&P 500.

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) shares sank 7.3%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500. Late Tuesday, the cybersecurity firm issued earnings outlooks below market estimates for its fiscal first quarter and full year.

Abercrombie & Fitch ( ANF ) shares plunged nearly 12% intraday Wednesday after the apparel retailer guided for a slowdown in sales growth in fiscal 2025, while its first-quarter earnings outlook fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Gold rose 0.3% to $2,928.90 per troy ounce, while silver increased 2.3% to $32.13 per ounce.