Stocks continued to climb higher Wednesday, as market participants geared up for a key inflation report due out Thursday morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 65 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.43% or +18.71 points to 4,376.95

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.19% or +65.57 points to 33,804.87

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +0.71% or +96.83 points to 13,659.68

Driving market moves, the producer price index (PPI) rose 0.5% in September, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, topping expectations but coming below August's 0.7% increase. Excluding food and energy, core PPI also came in above estimates wit 0.3% growth last month.

Investors are preparing for the release of September's consumer price index (CPI), due out Thursday, for more clues on the Federal Reserve's next policy moves. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect headline inflation to increase 0.3% month-to-month and 3.6% annually.

Fed officials were split on the potential need for more policy tightening at their September meeting, the minutes showed Wednesday, but signaled that interest rates would need to remain high until inflation returns towards the central bank's desired rate of 2%. Still, the meeting minutes showed that one more interest rate hike is likely.

"A majority of participants judged that one more increase in the target federal funds rate at a future meeting would likely be appropriate, while some judged it likely that no further increases would be warranted," the minutes stated.

Market participants are also monitoring geopolitical risks stemming from the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday. Citi Global Equity Strategist David Groman said in a note on Tuesday that energy prices will likely be the conflict's main impact on equity markets.

"Historically, equity markets are usually higher 12m after the start of geopolitical conflicts despite initial volatility. However, equities have seen significant downside when geopolitical risks catalyze energy crises," Groman wrote.

President Joe Biden condemned the attacks on Israel by Hamas as terrorism on Tuesday, stating that the United States stands will its ally Israel.

"There are moments in this life, I mean this literally, when a pure unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world. People of Israel lived through one such moment this weekend," Biden said in remarks from the White House.

"The loss of innocent life is heartbreaking. Like every nation in the world, Israel has the right to respond, indeed the duty to respond, to these vicious attacks," Biden added.

Elsewhere, Birkenstock (BIRK  ) began trading at $41 per share on Wednesday, dropping below the German shoe brand's IPO price of $45 per share. The company's underwhelming market debut could impact market enthusiasm surrounding the IPO market, which has been attempting to rebound from its 2022 slump.

Exxon Mobil (XOM  ) announced Wednesday that it is buying shale driller Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD  ) for $253 a share, all-stock deal worth $59.5 billion. The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2024, and gives Exxon a dominant presence in the Permian Basin.

"The combined capabilities of our two companies will provide long-term value creation well in excess of what either company is capable of doing on a standalone basis," Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said in a statement.

For Thursday, Wall Street will react to September's CPI report, as well as third-quarter earnings reports from companies including Delta Air Lines (DAL  ), Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBD  ) and Domino's Pizza (DPZ  ).