Stocks manage to post modest gains after a wobbly day

Stocks on Wall Street shook off an afternoon slide and finished modestly higher Wednesday, clawing back some of their losses a day after the market's worst skid in two years.

The wobbly trading came as investors weighed another snapshot of inflation. Markets have been on edge about the possibility of a recession after a string of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year as the central bank fights inflation.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% after wavering between small gains and losses much of the afternoon. The benchmark index was coming off its biggest drop since June 2020, which ended a four-day winning streak.