02:27 PM EDT, 10/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as Wall Street evaluated the latest corporate earnings, while oil prices soared after the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on two Russian crude companies.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 1% at 22,964.6 after midday Thursday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 6,744.8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% to 46,765.6. Among sectors, energy led the gainers, while consumer staples saw the biggest drop.

In company news, Honeywell International ( HON ) raised its full-year earnings outlook after the industrial conglomerate logged an unexpected year-over-year increase in its third-quarter bottom line. The company's shares were up 7.3%, the top gainer on the Dow and among the best on the S&P 500.

Tesla (TSLA) shares rose 1.6% intraday after the electric vehicle maker said late Wednesday that record deliveries helped propel its third-quarter revenue above Wall Street's estimates.

Tesla's near-term deliveries and financial results are less relevant to its valuation than future artificial intelligence projects such as humanoid robot Optimus and Robotaxi, Truist Securities said in a Thursday note.

Quantum-computing stocks such as D-Wave Quantum ( QBTS ) , Rigetti Computing ( RGTI ) , IonQ ( IONQ ) , and Quantum Computing ( QUBT ) were showing sizable gains intraday Thursday following a report by The Wall Street Journal that several companies are in discussions to give the US Department of Commerce equity interests in exchange for federal funding.

However, a Commerce Department official told CNBC that the government is "not currently negotiating equity stakes" with quantum computing companies.

Molina Healthcare ( MOH ) shares sank nearly 20%, the worst performer on the S&P 500. The company late Wednesday provided a downbeat full-year financial outlook following a third-quarter bottom-line miss.

Intel ( INTC ) , Newmont ( NEM ) , Norfolk Southern ( NSC ) and Ford Motor ( F ) are scheduled to report after the closing bell Thursday, along with others.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 5.9% to $61.94 a barrel intraday.

On Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed further sanctions on two of Russia's largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, citing the country's "lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine."

The development is "unlikely to spark a sustained rally (in oil prices) as the market is moving into surplus and Russia can still reroute barrels," Oxford Economics said Thursday. "We expect the impact to fall mainly on Russian revenues rather than global supply."

US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the 10-year rate rising 4.6 basis points to 4% and two-year rate increasing 3.2 basis points to 3.48%.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump reportedly said his meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in South Korea is "scheduled" for next week.

In economic news, existing home sales in the US rose in line with market estimates in September amid declining mortgage rates and improving affordability and inventory, data from the National Association of Realtors showed Thursday.

"Mortgage rates have been easing since the beginning of September, but it will take at least two more months before the housing market starts to see a positive impact," Jefferies said. The (25-basis-point Federal Reserve) rate cut announced in September has opened the door for lower rates, but further cuts are needed to more meaningfully stimulate activity in the market."

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to lower its benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point next week, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Gold was up 2.2% at $4,152.50 per troy ounce, while silver gained 2.4% to $48.83 per ounce.