01:13 PM EDT, 03/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose alongside gains in government bond yields after midday on Wednesday ahead of announcements from the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell's press briefing.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8% to 17,648.2, with the S&P 500 up 0.6% to 5,645.2 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading 0.6% higher at 41,820.3. Consumer discretionary, energy, and technology led the gainers intraday.

The Fed's monetary policy decision for March is due at 2 pm ET, and Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 pm. The central bank likely held its benchmark lending rate unchanged in the 4.25% to 4.5% target range, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

"The focus will be on comments from policymakers related to the impact on economic growth following US President Donald Trump's latest trade and immigration policies," a note from D. A. Davidson said. Investors will also look out for the Fed's approach to quantitative tightening, according to a note from the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

If the debt ceiling rises, "treasury issuance would likely increase, driving gains higher and returns lower," the WFII note said. "By pausing quantitative tightening, the Fed would potentially limit market volatility by limiting the amount of treasury supply that the market would need to absorb."

Most US Treasury yields rose intraday, with the two-year rate up 3.6 basis points to 4.08% and the 10-year yield 2.5 basis points higher at 4.31%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 0.7% to $67.37 a barrel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to limit attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities while rejecting a broader 30-day ceasefire, Commerzbank said in a note. The US says talks on a total ceasefire will start immediately, the note said.

The market's expectation of a quick resolution, in line with President Trump's desire, will need to be reassessed, Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, said in a note.

"The scenario of a permanent peace agreement achieved through small steps over a longer period seems more plausible now," Leon said. "As such, the likelihood of an imminent increase in Russian oil and gas supplies in the market has decreased after the meeting."

Meanwhile, US commercial crude oil stocks, excluding inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 1.7 million barrels during the week ended March 14, following a 1.4 million barrel increase in the previous week, above the 1-million-barrel gain anticipated in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In company news, Boeing's ( BA ) Q1 cash outflow will likely be smaller than previously projected due to ongoing stabilization of factory operations and a clearing out of inventory, Chief Financial Officer Brian West said during a Bank of America (BAC) conference, according to a transcript from FactSet. Boeing's ( BA ) shares jumped 5.5% intraday, leading the S&P 500 and the Dow.