US equity indexes were mixed as communication services helped the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite outperform in midday trading on Wednesday.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2% to 21,526.6, with the S&P 500 up 0.5% to 6,446.1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3% to 45,183.3.

The communication services sector was the top gainer, up 3.4%, followed by technology and consumer discretionary. Energy was the steepest decliner, down 1.9%.

In company news, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) shares surged 7.5%, the top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite, after multiple price target raises following Tuesday's federal court ruling that the company's Google unit will not have to sell its Chrome browser to comply with antitrust laws.

Apple (AAPL) shares jumped 3.2%, among the top performers in the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite, and the Dow, after a US federal judge let Google retain its exclusive contracts related to the distribution of Google Search and Google's AI offerings.

US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield down 5.8 basis points to 4.22% and the two-year rate 4.6 basis points lower at 3.61%.

Gold futures advanced 1% to $3,628.1, after scaling a new peak of $3,627.70 earlier in the session.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures slumped 1.8% to $64.38 a barrel.