US equity indexes ended higher Wednesday after government bond yields fell despite Iran's retaliatory attacks across the Middle East.

* The additional strikes on Iran on Tuesday led to Tehran attacking Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait even though US President Donald Trump had warned that Iran would be "hit much harder" if it retaliated to the first strikes.

* ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 38,000 increase in August, below a 47,000 gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

* New orders for US factory goods rose 0.9% in July from a 0.2% decrease in June, above expectations for a 0.7% increase in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

* October West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $0.60 to settle at $90.82 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $0.75 at $95.40.

* Dell Technologies (DELL) shares rose roughly 16%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, after the company reported higher fiscal Q2 results and raised its fiscal 2027 guidance.

* Palo Alto Networks (PANW) shares were down about 9.3%, the worst performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the cybersecurity firm's fiscal Q4 adjusted gross margin declined year over year.