02:15 PM EST, 01/22/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite getting a boost from a post-earnings rally in Netflix ( NFLX ) shares.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.3% to 20,004.9 after midday Wednesday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 6,091.7. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.3% to 44,170.8. Among sectors, only tech and communication services were higher, while real estate and utilities saw the biggest drops.

In company news, Netflix ( NFLX ) shares were up 10%, the top performer on the S&P 500 and among the best on the Nasdaq. Late Tuesday, streaming giant's fourth-quarter financial results exceeded Wall Street's estimates as it reported a record addition of new subscribers.

Netflix's ( NFLX ) latest price hikes are expected to drive revenue growth this year, while its ad tier is seen accelerating sales in 2026, Wedbush Securities said in a note.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares were up 4.3% intraday Wednesday, the best performer on the Dow, followed by Microsoft ( MSFT ) , up 3.7%. Oracle (ORCL) was among the top gainers on the S&P 500, up 7.5%, while Arm (ARM) surged 15%, the second-best Nasdaq performer.

On Tuesday, Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed OpenAI said a new company called Stargate plans to invest $500 billion over the next four years building new artificial intelligence infrastructure for OpenAI in the US. Arm, Microsoft ( MSFT ), Nvidia ( NVDA ), Oracle, and OpenAI will be the key initial technology partners, the parent of generative AI chatbot ChatGPT said.

Johnson & Johnson's ( JNJ ) fourth-quarter results topped market expectations, while the healthcare products conglomerate anticipates results in 2025 to be higher than the previous year. Its shares were down 2.7% intraday Wednesday, the steepest decline on the Dow.

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) was among the worst performers on the S&P 500, down 3.9%. The carrier said Tuesday it was removing 270 pilot positions in Denver and Atlanta as part of ongoing efforts to increase efficiency.

The US 10-year yield was up 3.5 basis points at 4.61% intraday, while the two-year rate rose 1.6 basis points to 4.3%.

In economic news, mortgage applications in the US were little changed last week as 30-year fixed interest rates remained around 7%, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.4% to $75.56 a barrel.

Gold was up 0.4% at $2,771.80 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 0.1% to $31.46 per ounce.