The consumer staples and real estate sectors buoyed US equity indexes on Wednesday, supported by better-than-expected US jobless claims, as markets closed early for the Christmas holiday.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.2% to 23,613.3, with the S&P 500 up 0.3% to 6,932.1 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.6% higher at 48,731.8. Consumer staples and real estate were among the top gainers.

The CBOE Volatility Index fell 4.2% to 13.40.

In economic news, initial weekly jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 20 came in at 214,000, compared with 224,000 in the week prior. The consensus guidance range was 217,000 to 235,000.

For the week ended Dec. 19, mortgage applications fell 5% from a decline of 3.8% in the week prior, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey. Applications for refinancing loans fell by 6%.

US Treasury yields fell, with the two-year down by 1.6 basis points to 3.51%, while the 10-year yield declined by 3.4 basis points to 4.135%.

In company news, Nike (NKE) shares rose 5% after a disclosure that Apple (AAPL) Chief Executive Tim Cook has bought 50,000 shares worth over $2.9 million at an average buying price of $58.97. Apple shares rose 0.5%.

Intel's (INTC) stock fell 0.5% after Reuters reported that Nvidia (NVDA) will not proceed with testing of chip production using Intel's 18A process. The report added that Nvidia did not make a production commitment with Intel when it invested $5 billion in the chipmaker in September. Nvidia shares fell 0.2%.

Edgewise Therapeutics (EWTX) climbed about 26% after the company said it advanced its phase 2 trial of EDG-7500 in patients with obstructive and nonobstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and reported favorable interim safety results from its ongoing part D study.

Oil prices were lower, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures down marginally to $58.36 a barrel, while Brent futures shed 0.2% to $62.24.

Gold futures were marginally lower at $4,504, while silver futures jumped 1% to $72.01.