03:35 PM EDT, 07/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes are on track to close higher on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump refuted claims that he intends to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 44,209.48, the S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 6,261.04, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.2% to 20,718.39. Among sectors, health care and real estate led the gainers, while energy was the lone decliner.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) shares rose 6.1%, the biggest increase on the Dow. The company raised its full-year outlook after posting better-than-expected Q2 results.

Omnicom Group ( OMC ) shares gained 4.2%, a day after a Q2 beat on both earnings and revenue.

Valero Energy ( VLO ) shares fell 3.6% after Citigroup downgraded its rating on the stock to neutral from buy.

The 10-year US Treasury yield fell 3.3 basis points to 4.46%, while the two-year rate decreased 6.7 basis points to 3.89%.

August West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.2% to $66.65 a barrel.