S&P 500 clings to a modest gain

Wall Street capped a wobbly day of trading Wednesday with a mixed finish for the major stock indexes, as technology and communication companies weighed on the market for a second straight day.

The S&P 500 rose 6.83 points to 4,359.46. The Dow gained 90.73 points to 34,390.72, and the Nasdaq fell 34.24 points to 14,512.44. The Russell 2000 index of small companies also fell, shedding 4.47 points, or 0.2%, to 2,225.31.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which is used to set interest rates on many kinds of loans, held at 1.53%.

Health care companies and a mix of companies that focus on consumer products accounted for a large share of the gains in the S&P 500. Eli Lilly rose 4% and Procter & Gamble added 1%.

Investors are still closely watching the Federal Reserve to gauge how the slowdown in economic growth will impact the speed of its plan to eventually trim the bond purchases it has been making to helped keep interest rates low.

Wall Street also is preparing for the next round of corporate earnings in the next few weeks. Investors will get a more detailed look at how supply chain problems and higher costs are impacting corporate finances.

A wide range of companies have been warning investors about the impact of inflation on costs and profits. Nike, Costco and FedEx are among those that have cited materials costs, shipping delays and labor problems as concerns.

Sherwin-Williams became the latest company to warn that higher raw materials costs will hurt profits. The stock gained 0.8% as investors took the announcement in stride, but it is still down 9.6% from its all-time high of $308.70 on Sept. 2.