01:48 PM EDT, 06/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with latest market prices and developments.)

US benchmark equity indexes were mixed intraday ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision and new central bank chair, Kevin Warsh's, press conference.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4% at 52,202.7 after midday Wednesday, after closing at a record high in the previous session. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were little changed at 26,367.7 and 7,511, respectively, intraday Wednesday.

Among sectors, communication services saw the steepest decline, while industrials paced the gainers.

The Fed is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision at 2 pm ET. Markets widely expect the central bank to keep rates unchanged for a fourth consecutive time, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Warsh, who assumed the Fed chair role last month, is expected to hold a press conference at 2:30 pm.

"I would expect the balance of the dots projection to remove the median participants call for a rate cut this year, but for Warsh's press conference to sound more neutral-dovish than the dots, which he'll likely boycott," Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Scotiabank, said in a note.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.8% at $76.68 a barrel intraday, while Brent rose 0.7% to $79.49.

A draft agreement between the US and Iran includes a mechanism for Tehran to gain access to at least $300 billion in financing, as well as a commitment from the Islamic Republic that it will never produce nuclear weapons, news outlets reported.

A formal signing ceremony is scheduled to take place in Switzerland Friday, which would kick off a 60-day period of further talks.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the proposed memorandum of understanding with Iran is "not final" and that Washington will "go right back to dropping bombs" if he doesn't like the Tehran deal, CNBC reported.

The International Energy Agency lowered its global oil demand forecast for 2026 amid war-driven headwinds while projecting a rebound next year.

"While the US-Iran interim agreement paves the way for a rebound in Middle East (oil) exports, operational and political constraints, including prolonged demining and unresolved transit arrangements, leave downside risks to the outlook," the agency said.

US Treasury yields were mixed intraday, with the two-year rate increasing 2.1 basis points to 4.07% and the 10-year rate little changed at 4.43%.

In economic news, US retail sales rose more than expected in May as consumers kept spending despite higher prices, official data showed.

In company news, CarMax's ( KMX ) fiscal first-quarter earnings fell year over year as comparable used vehicle sales swung negative. The used-vehicle retailer's shares were down 8.1% intraday.

Carvana ( CVNA ) shares sank 7.1%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500.

La-Z-Boy ( LZB ) shares surged nearly 20%. Late Tuesday, the furniture manufacturer reported a year-over-year gain in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and said it expected sales to outperform the industry in the ongoing quarter.

Gold was up 0.6% at $4,381.60 per troy ounce, while silver rose 0.9% to $70.64 per ounce.