Treasury yields touched almost four-year highs and U.S. stocks managed to hold onto late gains after Federal Reserve officials set the stage for an rate increase in March by adding emphasis to their plan for more hikes while leaving borrowing costs unchanged.
After being whipsawed by the Fed announcement, the S&P 500 Index closed higher for the first time in three days, rounding out the best start to the year for the U.S. benchmark since 1997. European and Asian equities continued to experience the pullback seen since the start of the week, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index both declining for a third day.
