IN BUSINESS

Stocks ended modestly higher Wednesday as big gains for transportation and financial companies were partly offset by losses elsewhere.

Airline stocks rose sharply, led by an 8.8 percent surge in United Continental after the company reported a huge increase in earnings. Railroad stocks also climbed. CSX jumped 7.1 percent after releasing strong results.

The S&P 500 index rose 6 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,815. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79 points, or 0.3 percent, to 25,199. The Nasdaq composite fell less than a point to 7,854.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10year Treasury rose to 2.88 percent.

Fed chief says trade war downturn could pose challenges

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says that the central bank has tools it could use to cushion the adverse effects a trade war might have on the economy. But he told Congress the effort could be challenging if higher tariffs push inflation up too sharply.

Powell says if the retaliatory tariffs imposed by other countries caused the U.S. economy to slow, the Fed could employ its normal tools, such as lowering interest rates.

But he says that could become complicated if higher U.S. tariffs on foreign products caused inflation to accelerate. That’s because the Fed’s normal response to higher inflation is to raise interest rates, not lower them. “If we do have higher inflation, that could be very challenging for policy,” Powell says.

EU fines Google a record $5 billion over Android practices

The European Union fined Google a record $5 billion Wednesday for forcing cellphone makers that use the company’s hugely popular Android operating system to install Google apps. The EU said the practice restricts competition and reduces choices for consumers.

The fine, which caps a three-year investigation, is the biggest ever imposed on a company by the EU for anti-competitive behavior.

Google said it would appeal.