US indexes close mostly higher

Friday, December 8, 2017, Vol. 41, No. 49
The Associated Press

Stocks are closing mostly higher on Wall Street, but a pullback in bank stocks left the Standard & Poor's 500 index slightly lower.

The Dow Jones industrials closed higher Wednesday, driven by a jump in Caterpillar, giving the index another all-time high. Caterpillar climbed 3.6 percent.

Banks struggled as long-term bond yields edged lower, which makes it tougher for banks to earn money from lending. Bank of America lost 1.6 percent.

The declines came even as the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate for the third time this year.

The S&P 500 slipped 1 point to 2,662.

The Dow climbed 80 points, or 0.3 percent, to 24,585. The Nasdaq rose 13 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,875.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.35 percent.