04:33 PM EDT, 03/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes rose Wednesday with the S&P 500 reaching a record as traders awaited key economic reports scheduled to be released Thursday, including a fresh reading on Q4 economic growth.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.9% to 5,248.5, surpassing the previous record close at 5,241.5 on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.2% to 39,760.1, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5% to 16,399.5. All sectors closed higher, led by utilities and real estate.

Official data are likely to show Thursday that the US economy grew at a 3.2% annualized rate in the December quarter, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. That would mark an unchanged reading captured in a second estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis last month. In Q3, real gross domestic product rose 4.9%.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment report for March and the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales data for February are also slated for a Thursday release.

The US 10-year yield fell 4.4 basis points to 4.19% Wednesday, while the two-year rate slid 2.5 basis points to 4.57%.

"Supply chains are back in focus after a massive cargo ship collided with the 1.6-mile Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore yesterday, leading to the presumed tragic loss of life and the indefinite suspension of shipping traffic through the port," Stifel said Wednesday in a report.

A record 52.3 million tons traveled through the port in 2023, with trade amounting to $80.8 billion, the brokerage said. "As officials continue to search for answers, the immediate economic fallout is evident."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.1% to $81.70 per barrel Wednesday. Commercial crude stockpiles in the US increased by 3.2 million barrels to 448.2 million barrels through the week ended March 22, the Energy Information Administration said. The consensus estimate on Bloomberg was for a decline of 700,000 barrels.

In company news, Cintas ( CTAS ) logged stronger-than-expected top- and bottom-line growth in fiscal Q3 and boosted its full-year outlook. The uniform supplier's shares jumped 8.3%, the top gainer on the Nasdaq and among the leaders on the S&P 500.

Merck ( MRK ) shares rose 5%, the top gainer on the Dow. The company said Tuesday it received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its drug Winrevair as a treatment for adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Gold rose 0.7% to $2,214.60 per troy ounce, while silver added 0.5% to $24.74 per ounce.