(Updates with latest market prices and developments.)
US benchmark equity indexes were mixed intraday ahead of earnings releases from technology giants Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA), while oil prices advanced further.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% at 52,372.4 after midday Wednesday, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.2% to 7,520.4. The Nasdaq Composite ticked down 0.1% to 25,812.3. Among sectors, utilities paced the gainers, while consumer discretionary saw the steepest decline.
Google parent Alphabet and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla are scheduled to report their quarterly earnings after the markets close, along with Texas Instruments (TXN), IBM (IBM), ServiceNow (NOW) and CSX (CSX).
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 2.4% at $86.32 a barrel intraday, while Brent advanced 2.7% to $93.47. Both benchmarks were on track for their fourth consecutive day of gains, with Brent briefly trading above $95 earlier Wednesday amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran.
In a social media post Wednesday, US President Donald Trump vowed to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Tehran attacks ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it hit Jordan's King Faisal and Prince Hassan bases with missiles and drones, claiming to have targeted US military equipment in response to recent American strikes, CNN reported. The US Central Command said Tuesday it struck Iran for the 11th consecutive evening.
Four more tankers changed course in the Red Sea Wednesday following threats by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis to attack vessels using Saudi Arabian ports, Reuters reported.
Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the two-year rate up 3.7 basis points at 4.3% and the 10-year rate rising 1.8 basis points to 4.65%.
In corporate news, shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) jumped nearly 24% intraday, the best performer on the S&P 500. The company said in a preliminary business update late Tuesday that it received more than $60 billion in new orders during its fiscal fourth quarter. It raised the gross margin outlook for the period.
Alaska Air (ALK) slumped 5.3% as the airline late Tuesday issued a downbeat third-quarter earnings outlook and swung to a second-quarter loss.
Gold was up 1.8% at $4,151.20 per troy ounce, while silver gained 2% to $60.30 per ounce.



