01:55 PM EDT, 08/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's July monetary policy meeting.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were up 0.3% each at 5,612.9 and 17,869.8, respectively, after midday Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 40,879.9. Among sectors, consumer discretionary led the gainers, while financials and communication services posted losses.

The minutes of the Fed's July meeting are scheduled to be released at 2 pm ET. At its meeting late last month, the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 5.25% to 5.50%, its eighth straight pause. The FOMC said at the time that inflation remained "somewhat elevated" despite having eased over the last year.

Policymakers started increasing interest rates in March 2022 to tame inflation, with their last rate hike coming in July 2023.

The US two-year yield fell 7.8 basis points to 3.92% intraday, while the 10-year rate lost 4.5 basis points to 3.77%.

The US economy is estimated to have created 818,000 fewer jobs in the year through March than previously reported, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' preliminary revisions to its annual nonfarm payrolls data.

"Given that everything was weak in the latest July jobs report -- weak payrolls, rising unemployment, falling hours worked and cooling wages -- today's update will only put more pressure on the Fed to loosen monetary policy," ING said in a report. "Momentum is being lost from an even weaker position than originally thought."

Markets will also be closely watching Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on Friday at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for clues regarding potential monetary easing.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.7% to $71.92 a barrel intraday.

In company news, Keysight Technologies ( KEYS ) shares jumped nearly 13%, the best performer on the S&P 500. The electronics test and measurement equipment manufacturer late Tuesday posted better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results, while Chief Executive Satish Dhanasekaran forecast second-half orders to be higher than the previous six-month period.

Target ( TGT ) followed Keysight ( KEYS ) on the S&P 500, up 12% intraday Wednesday, after the retailer raised its full-year earnings outlook amid improving trends across discretionary categories. The company's fiscal second-quarter results exceeded market estimates.

American Express ( AXP ) shares fell 3.3%, the steepest decline on the Dow and among the worst on the S&P 500. BofA downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, saying it sees a "limited incremental upside given potential for subdued billings volume growth and current premium valuation."

Synopsys ( SNPS ) , Snowflake (SNOW), Zoom Video Communications ( ZM ) and Urban Outfitters ( URBN ) are among the companies scheduled to report results after Wednesday's closing bell.

Gold was down 0.1% at $2,547.40 per troy ounce, while silver gained 0.1% to $29.55 per ounce.