12:46 PM EDT, 03/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose after midday Thursday, with technology and industrials among the top gainers, as the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting late Wednesday leaned away from taking a relatively hawkish stance.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 5,258.9, with the Nasdaq Composite up 0.7% to 16,490.5 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.9% higher at 39,862.2. All sectors, except communication services and utilities, were in the green.

On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee held interest rates steady at 5.25% to 5.50%, in line with consensus, marking the fifth straight pause. The committee left its median rate expectation for this year unchanged at 4.6%.

"As we expected, the Fed continues to see 3 [interest-rate] cuts this year, and adopted the strong supply-side narrative we have been calling for in its forecasts," Morgan Stanley economists, including Ellen Zentner, said in a note. "We maintain our call for 4 cuts this year."

The US Treasury two-year yield rose 2.6 basis points to 4.63%, while the 10-year yield was little-changed at 4.28%.

In economic news, the March flash reading of manufacturing conditions from S&P Global rose to a 21-month high of 52.5 from 52.2 in February, compared with 51.8 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, the Conference Board's measure of leading indicators rose 0.1% in February, compared with expectations for a 0.1% drop in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and a 0.4% decrease in January.

In company news, Micron Technology's ( MU ) shares surged 16% intraday, the top performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after several analysts raised price targets on the semiconductor manufacturer's stock. The move comes as the company reported swing to a profit in fiscal Q2, while revenue rose from a year ago.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.6% to $80.77 per barrel intraday.