FINANCIAL MARKETS

U.S. stock indexes overcame an afternoon wobble to close mostly higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would start reducing its huge bond portfolio next month and was still on track to raise interest rates later this year.

The central bank’s announcement drove bond yields higher, lifting shares in banks and other financial companies. Banks benefit from higher bond yields because it means they can charge higher interest rates on loans.

High-dividend stocks like utilities and household goods makers fell. Income-seeking investors find those stocks less appealing when bond yields move higher.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index inched up 1.59 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,508.24. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 41.79 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,412.59. The modest gains nudged both indexes to record highs, extending a run of milestones that stretches back to last week.

The Nasdaq composite lost 5.28 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,456.04. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 5.02 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,445.42.

Fed policymakers decided to leave the central bank’s short-term benchmark interest rate between 1 percent and 1.25 percent, but also said they still expect to increase the rate one more time this year and three times in 2018, if persistently low inflation rebounds.

The Fed has modestly raised the rate four times since December 2015 after keeping it at a record low for seven years after the 2008 financial crisis.

In addition, the Fed said it will begin to gradually unwind its $4.5 trillion balance sheet next month. The portfolio primarily consists of government and mortgage-backed bonds. The move will gradually increase long-term borrowing rates.

Following the announcement, bond prices slumped, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 2.27 percent from 2.25 percent late Tuesday.

The Fed statement also sent the dollar higher against other currencies. The dollar rose to 112.38 yen from 111.50 yen on Tuesday. The euro weakened to $1.1885 from $1.1997. Energy companies rose along with the price of crude oil. Chesapeake Energy added 15 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $4.19.

Benchmark U.S. crude added 93 cents, or 1.9 percent, to settle at $50.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained $1.15, or 2.1 percent, to $56.29 a barrel in London.

Wholesale gasoline was little changed at $1.66 a gallon. Heating oil added 3 cents to $1.81 a gallon. Natural gas declined 3 cents to $3.09 per 1,000 cubic feet.