04:31 PM EDT, 07/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed higher on Wednesday after President Donald Trump refuted claims that he intends to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The Nasdaq rose 0.3% to a record 20,730.49, the S&P 500 increased 0.3% to 6,263.7, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5% to 44,254.78. Among sectors, health care and real estate led the gainers, while energy paced the decliners.

US Treasury yields fell with the 10-year rate dropping 3.3 basis points to 4.46% and the two-year rate dropping 6.7 basis points to 3.89%.

August West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.3% to $66.72 a barrel.

Trump said it is "highly unlikely" he will fire Powell in the near future after CNBC earlier reported the president "likely will soon" remove the Fed chair, citing a senior White House official.

"No, we're not planning on doing it," Trump reportedly said, adding that he doesn't "rule out anything."

In economic news, US producer prices remained unchanged last month amid an increase in wholesale costs of goods and a decline in the services component, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, a day after data showed an uptick in consumer inflation.

"Softening demand for travel weighed heavily on the producer price index in June, keeping the headline and core measures unchanged," Oxford Economics said. "Tariff-exposed goods such as household appliances posted strong gains, but apparel and toys were mostly unchanged."

Mortgage applications in the US plunged last week as home loan rates rose amid renewed worries over tariffs, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

In company news, Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) shares rose 6.2%, the top gainer on the Dow. The company raised its full-year outlook after posting better-than-expected Q2 results.

Omnicom Group ( OMC ) shares rose 4.6%, a day after a Q2 beat on both earnings and revenue.

Valero Energy ( VLO ) shares fell 3.8% after Citigroup downgraded its rating on the stock to neutral from buy.

Gold increased 0.6% to $3,355.20 per troy ounce, and silver was little changed at $38.12 per troy ounce.