(Updates with latest market prices and developments.)
US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as a rally in Treasury yields lost steam, while commodity traders continued to track developments in the US-Iran conflict.
The S&P 500 was up 0.4% at 7,661.4 after midday Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% each to 52,947.5 and 26,182.3, respectively. The indexes finished Tuesday trading in the red for the third consecutive session.
Most sectors were in the green intraday, led by materials, while real estate saw the steepest decline.
Treasury yields were little changed intraday, with the two-year yield at 4.39% and the 10-year yield at 4.79%. Earlier Wednesday, the 10-year rate hit 4.818%, its highest level since November 2023, CNBC reported.
"While easing slightly after hitting multi-year peaks, yields remain elevated," Stifel said in a note on Wednesday.
Iran has expanded the number of vessels it says must not sail through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported Wednesday.
The US Central Command said Tuesday that its forces completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets. Iran reportedly launched retaliatory attacks on Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.1% at $91.17 a barrel intraday Wednesday, while Brent advanced 1.2% to $95.81.
In company news, shares of Dell Technologies (DELL) were up 9.2% intraday, the best performer on the S&P 500, after the company's fiscal second-quarter results beat Wall Street's estimates.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) slumped nearly 11%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500, as the cybersecurity firm's fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted gross margin declined year over year.
Brown-Forman (BF.A, BF.B) reiterated its guidance for fiscal 2027 organic sales on Wednesday as it flagged continuing consumer headwinds that drove weaker-than-expected first-quarter top-line. The company's class A and B shares were up 3.2% and 3.4%, respectively.
Broadcom (AVGO), Snowflake (SNOW), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Five Below (FIVE) are scheduled to release their quarterly results after markets close Wednesday.
In economic news, US private sector employment grew at its slowest pace in seven months in August, ADP (ADP) data showed, ahead of the official jobs report due on Friday.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are likely to show Friday that the US economy added 55,000 nonfarm jobs last month, compared with a drop of 23,000 for July, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The unemployment rate is seen unchanged at 4.1%.
Spot gold rose 0.9% to $4,368.15 per troy ounce, while silver edged up 0.1% to $65.44 per ounce.



