Tech leads Nasdaq up; Dow slips

NEW YORK — After a shaky start, U.S. stocks finished mostly higher Wednesday as technology and industrial companies rose. Banks fell with interest rates as the market came off its biggest loss in five months.

Stocks started lower, then rallied around midday and wandered between gains and losses for several hours before a late-afternoon push Technology companies led the market, as they’ve done throughout this year.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index picked up 4.43 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,348.45. Nike dragged down the Dow Jones industrial average, which fell 6.71 points to 20,661.30. The Nasdaq composite rose 27.81 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,821.64. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies sank 0.95 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,345.60.

The S&P 500’s technology index is up 11 percent in 2017, more than double the gain for the broader S&P 500.