US benchmark equity indexes closed mixed on Wednesday, after US and Vietnam agreed to a trade deal.

The Nasdaq was up 0.9% to 20,393.13 while the S&P 500 increased 0.5% to 6,227.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat at 44,484.42. Among sectors, energy led the gainers, while healthcare had the steepest decline.

US Treasury yields were higher, with the 10-year rate increasing 4.3 basis points to 4.29% and the two-year rate rising 1 basis point to 3.80%.

August West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 2.7% to $67.24 a barrel on Wednesday.

Vietnam has agreed to pay the US a 20% tariff on "any and all goods sent into our territory, and a 40% tariff on any transshipping," Trump said in a social media post. The US will be able to sell its products into Vietnam at "zero" tariffs, he added.

The latest tariff rate is above the 10% level that has been in place since April 9, but below the initially announced rate of 46%, Truist Securities said in a client note.

"Companies have largely issued guidance that embeds the 10% rate that has been in place since April, which could create some further downside to many outlooks," the brokerage wrote. "That said, our conversations with investors suggest that most have already been assuming that rates would eventually shake out in the (20% to 25%) range and are largely braced for the incremental pressure."

In economic news, the US private sector unexpectedly lost jobs in June as employers balked at hiring workers, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported.

"Though layoffs continue to be rare, a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace departing workers led to job losses last month," ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said in a statement. "Still, the slowdown in hiring has yet to disrupt pay growth."

Separately, Challenger Gray & Christmas reported that US job cuts totaled 47,999 last month, down 2% year on year and plunging 49% sequentially. "The bulk of companies cited economic conditions last month," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at the outplacement firm.

In company news, Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR), and MARA (MARA) shares were up 5.7%, 7.8% and 13%, respectively. Ripple has applied for a national banking license with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, The Wall Street Journal reported. The application aims to bring Ripple's dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, under federal regulation.

Centene (CNC) was the worst S&P 500 performer, down 40%. The company late Tuesday withdrew its full-year earnings outlook, citing lower-than-expected revenue from most states where it provides health insurance marketplace plans.

Other health insurance providers also fell following Centene's guidance withdrawal. UnitedHealth (UNH) shares were down 5.7% and Molina Healthcare (MOH) shares were falling 22%.

Gold increased 0.6% to $3,368.10 per troy ounce, and silver was up 1.1% to $36.80 per troy ounce.