US benchmark equity indexes ended higher Wednesday as markets weighed the latest batch of economic data and corporate earnings.

* Growth in the US services sector slowed in January amid weakness in business activity and new orders, two surveys by the Institute for Supply Management and S&P Global (SPGI) showed Wednesday. The ISM survey indicated concerns among panelists regarding potential tariff actions by the Trump administration.

* "We expect that the service sector will grow along a solid trend going forward," Jefferies said in a note to clients. "Our base case expectation is that the net effect of the tariffs will be rather modest on corporate profit margins and inflation, and that the drag will be overwhelmed by the positive impacts of deregulation and tax cuts."

* On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report that the US added 170,000 nonfarm jobs for January, which would mark a drop from the 256,000 gain posted for the month prior, according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

* March West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down $1.49 to settle at $71.21 per barrel, while April Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $1.45 to $74.75 after a report showed an unexpectedly large rise in US inventories last week and concerns grow that Donald Trump's tariff plans will slow global growth.

* Johnson Controls International (JCI) shares jumped over 11% after the building systems manufacturer increased its fiscal 2025 earnings outlook and announced a new chief executive.

* Alphabet's (GOOG) class A and C shares fell more than 7%. The Google parent's Q4 revenue trailed Wall Street's estimates late Tuesday, while its earnings came in stronger than expected.