04:14 PM EDT, 07/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended higher on Wednesday after stocks swung sharply following reports that President Donald Trump was considering removing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, which the president later denied.

* President Donald Trump denied plans to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell just hours after reportedly telling House Republicans he would fire him, CNBC reported Wednesday. Trump was quoted as saying, "We're not planning on doing it. It's highly unlikely." However, according to earlier reports, Trump asked lawmakers on Tuesday if he should dismiss Powell, receiving supportive responses, and several attendees said he indicated he would follow through. Bloomberg also reported, citing a White House official, that Trump intended to remove the Fed chair soon.

* The US Producer Price Index was unchanged in June after rising 0.3% in May, exceeding the 0.2% increase expected by Bloomberg's survey. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, also remained flat, coming in below the forecasted 0.2% gain and following a 0.4% rise the month before, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, headline PPI rose 2.3% and core PPI climbed 2.6%, both slowing from May. Meanwhile, US industrial production increased 0.3% in June, above the 0.1% forecast, following a revised flat reading in May.

* August West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $0.21 to settle at $66.73 per barrel, while September Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $0.08 to $68.79.

* Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) shares were up about 6.2% after the company reported stronger-than-expected Q2 results and raised its full-year forecast.

* Valero Energy ( VLO ) shares dropped roughly 3.6% after Citigroup downgraded the company's stock to neutral from buy.