03:50 PM EST, 03/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes are on track to close higher on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's latest comments on the Trump administration's policy changes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 42,700.9, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.4% to 18,137.9. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% to 5755.9. Utilities and energy sectors were the top gainers and consumer staples had the steepest decline.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) was the best performer on the S&P 500 with shares up 8%. The chipmaker late Thursday provided fiscal second-quarter revenue guidance ahead of analysts' estimates after delivering a first-quarter beat.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) shares were down 13% after the company shared plans to achieve roughly $350 million in run-rate cost savings by fiscal year 2027 through workforce reductions.

Costco Wholesale ( COST ) shares fell 6.6%. The company's fiscal Q2 net income missed analysts' consensus late Thursday.

The 10-year US Treasury yield gained 4.3 basis points to 4.3%, while the two-year rate was up 2.9 basis points to 4%.

April West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1% at $66.99 a barrel.