Stocks closed mostly higher Wednesday on Wall Street, but a pullback in bank stocks left the Standard & Poor's 500 index slightly lower, the AP reports. The Dow Jones industrials closed higher Wednesday, driven by a jump in Caterpillar, giving the index another all-time high. Caterpillar climbed 3.6%. Banks struggled as long-term bond yields edged lower, which makes it tougher for banks to earn money from lending. Bank of America lost 1.6%. The declines came even as the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate for the third time this year.
The S&P 500 slipped 1 point to 2,662. The Dow climbed 80 points, or 0.3%, to 24,585. The Nasdaq rose 13 points, or 0.2%, to 6,875. Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.35%.
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