US benchmark equity indexes closed higher Wednesday with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite getting a boost from a post-earnings rally in Netflix (NFLX) shares.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.3% to 20,009.3, while the S&P rose 0.6% to 6,086.4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.3% to 44,156.7. Tech and communication services were the only sectors to post gains. Utilities posted the steepest decline.

In company news, Netflix shares jumped 9.7%, the biggest gain on the S&P 500 and the second-largest on the Nasdaq. The streaming giant's Q4 results exceeded Wall Street's estimates with a record addition of new subscribers.

Netflix's latest price hikes are expected to drive revenue growth this year, while its ad tier is seen accelerating sales in 2026, Wedbush Securities said.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares increased 4.4%, the top gain on the Dow, followed by Microsoft (MSFT), up 4.1%. Oracle (ORCL) was among the top gainers on the S&P, up 6.8%, while Arm (ARM) surged 16%, the biggest increase on the Nasdaq.

On Tuesday, Japan's SoftBank and Microsoft-backed OpenAI said a new company called Stargate plans to invest $500 billion over the next four years building new artificial intelligence infrastructure for OpenAI in the US.

SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX are the initial equity funders in Stargate, while Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle and OpenAI will be the key initial technology partners.

Home Depot (HD) announced new partnerships with Uber (UBER) and DoorDash's (DASH) delivery services, expanding one-hour delivery options. The home improvement retailer's shares decreased 2%, the biggest decline on the Dow. Uber rose 0.1%, while DoorDash lost 0.2%.

Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Q4 results topped market expectations, while the health-care products conglomerate anticipates results in 2025 will increase. The shares still fell 1.9%, the second-steepest decline on the Dow.

The US 10-year yield rose 3.1 basis points at 4.61%, while the two-year rate advanced 2.1 basis points to 4.30%.

In economic news, the income required to afford asking rents for a US apartment fell to the lowest since March 2022, Redfin (RDFN) said.

"Rental affordability will continue improving this year, as wages grow and rents remain flat, thanks to the recent boom in apartment construction," said Sheharyar Bokhari, the real estate brokerage's senior economist.

Mortgage applications in the US were little changed last week as 30-year fixed interest rates remained around 7%, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.5% to $75.43 a barrel Wednesday.

Gold gained 0.3% to $2,766.70 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 0.3% to $31.39 per ounce.