01:58 PM EDT, 07/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision and earnings by mega-cap technology stocks Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta Platforms ( META ) .

The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5% at 21,192.2 after midday Wednesday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 6,385.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.1% to 44,661.3. Among sectors, utilities paced the gainers, while energy saw the biggest drop.

The Fed is due to announce its decision at 2 pm ET, with Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 pm. Markets are widely expecting the Federal Open Market Committee to hold its benchmark lending rate steady, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Policymakers are likely to continue to wait for more clarity on fiscal policy initiatives, especially tariffs, and their potential impact on inflation and the US economy, Stifel said in a client note. "However, given the range of Fed commentary more recently, we do expect potentially two dissents from Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, with both likely to advocate for a rate reduction."

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on the Fed to cut interest rates.

Official data showed Wednesday that the US economy grew at a 3% annual rate in the second quarter. That compares with 2.6% growth modeled by analysts.

The latest gross domestic product reading is "way better" than projected, Trump said in a social media post, again urging the Fed to ease monetary policy.

US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the 10-year rate rising 2.8 basis points to 4.36% and the two-year rate adding 1.6 basis points to 3.89%.

Tech giants Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta are scheduled to report their latest quarterly financial results after the closing bell Wednesday, along with other major names such as Qualcomm ( QCOM ) , Ford Motor ( F ) and eBay ( EBAY ) .

In company news, Wingstop ( WING ) shares surged nearly 26% after the company reported a surprise increase in second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year global restaurant unit growth outlook.

Humana (HUM) was among the best performers on the S&P 500, up 8.3%, after the health insurer raised its full-year financial outlook following a quarterly beat.

Trane Technologies ( TT ) lifted its full-year guidance as the climate control product maker's second-quarter earnings topped market expectations, though revenue fell short of estimates amid declines in its Asia Pacific operations. The company's shares were down 7.6%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.5% at $70.22 a barrel intraday.

In other economic news, the US private sector added more jobs than expected this month as employers grew more optimistic about the state of the economy, Automatic Data Processing ( ADP ) reported.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report Friday that the US economy added 102,000 nonfarm jobs in July, which would mark a drop from a 147,000 increase reported the month prior, according to a Bloomberg poll.

Pending home sales in the US surprisingly dropped in June amid declines in three of the four geographic regions, data from the National Association of Realtors showed.

Mortgage applications in the US fell last week to the lowest since May as both purchases and refinance activity cooled amid macroeconomic uncertainty, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The US will impose a 25% tariff rate on India, effective Friday, Trump said in a social media post. India will also face a penalty for purchasing weapons and energy from Russia, Trump wrote.

In a separate social media post Wednesday, Trump said that his reciprocal tariff deadline of Friday for trading partners that haven't signed a trade deal with the US "will not be extended."

Gold was down 0.9% at $3,352.5 per troy ounce, while silver slid 1.4% to $37.76 per ounce.