Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq snap 3-session skid as stocks eke out gains

U.S. stocks finished modestly higher Wednesday, with all three major stock benchmarks ending a 3-session skid, as investors picked up shares after a sharp market selloff earlier this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-1.68%
rose about 61 points, or 0.2%, ending near 32,970, while the S&P 500 index
SPX,
-2.23%
closed up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
-3.14%
advanced 0.4%. Stocks booked modest gains as investors remained focused on the Federal Reserve’s inflation fight and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole, Wyo. symposium on Friday. Recession worries also were in focus, with pending homes sales falling in July, a sign that rate hikes have been helping cool demand, even through shelter costs, specifically rents, have contributed to high U.S. inflation. Benchmark lending climbed Wednesday, with the 10-year Treasury rate
TMUBMUSD10Y,
3.765%
climbing to 3.105% Wednesday, the highest since June 28, according to Dow Jones Market Data based on 3 p.m. Eastern levels. The S&P 500’s energy sector helped lead the way higher, up 1.2%, while financial rose 0.5%, according to FactSet