01:48 PM EDT, 06/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose ahead of monetary policy projections from the Federal Reserve and as President Donald Trump said Iran reached out for negotiations.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 19,590.7, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% to 5,997.7, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 0.3% higher at 42,322.4 after midday on Wednesday.

The Federal Open Market Committee will release a monetary policy statement at 2 p.m. ET following its two-day meeting, in which interest rates will likely be left unchanged. Investors will focus on Chair Jerome Powell's commentary, which will be subject to scrutiny for cues on the strategy to rein in stubborn inflationary pressures, according to a research note from D. A. Davidson.

"The market seems to be expecting almost nothing from this FOMC meeting, only that the Fed will adjust its dot-plot for this year to reflect two rate cuts," John Hardy, global head of macro strategy at Saxo Bank, said in a note.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures added 0.1% to $74.92 a barrel.

Trump told reporters outside the White House that the Iranians had reached out and signaled they would send a delegation to Washington for negotiations, CNBC reported on Wednesday. "They want to negotiate," the president said. "They even suggested that they come to the White House. That's courageous. It's like not easy for them to do."

Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, criticized Israel for launching its military campaign while Tehran was holding talks with the US over its nuclear enrichment program, CNN reported, citing his national address.

US intelligence assessments have concluded that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, and it was also up to three years away from being able to produce and deliver one to a target of its choosing, CNN reported, citing four people familiar with the assessment. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said Iran could, if unstopped, reach nuclear capability "in a very short time... less than a year."

Trump is considering a potential military action against Iran amid the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, media outlets reported. After saying on Tuesday that Khamenei was "an easy target" for the US and Israel, the US president then ramped up his demands on Truth Social: "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!", according to a separate news report from CNN.

Iran's Khamenei said in the national address that Iran will not surrender and warned that any US military intervention would result in "irreparable damage."

Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year down 2.6 basis points to 4.37% and the two-year rate sliding 1.9 basis points to 3.93%.

In economic news, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims fell by 5,000 to 245,000 for the week ended June 14, government data showed, in line with a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. The previous week's reading was revised up by 2,000 to 250,000. The four-week moving average totaled 245,500, its highest level since August 2023, up 4,750 from the prior week.

"Despite the slight decline in initial jobless claims in the week ending June 14, both initial and continuing unemployment claims are trending higher, consistent with a gradual softening in labor market conditions," Oxford Economics Deputy Chief US Economist Michael Pearce said in remarks emailed to MT Newswires.