NEW YORK — Stocks closed mixed Wednesday after the head of the Federal Reserve said unemployment may remain high for several years. The Dow Jones industrial average eked out its eighth straight day of gains, extending its longest advancing streak in nearly a year.
Major indexes traded lower for much of the day after Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, told members of the House of Representatives that the economy is strengthening but that companies haven’t yet stepped up hiring. Last week, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in January.
“Inflation is picking up around the world as there is leakage from the quantitative-easing policy in the U.S. to the commodities space and to China,” said Stephen Wood, the New York-based chief market strategist for Russell Investments.
Developing countries “are faced with inflationary pressures, and their policy responses are designed to slow down economic growth.”
Bond prices rose after Bernanke’s testimony, reversing a slump that had pushed yields up to their highest levels since last April. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.66.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 6.74 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,239.89. The Dow has had only one down day in the last 11, on Jan. 28 when the protests in Egypt escalated.
It last finished with eight straight days of gains last March.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 3.69 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,320.88. It was the first down day for the index after four days of gains. The Nasdaq composite lost 7.98, or 0.3 percent, to 2,789.07.
Coca-Cola said its income more than tripled last quarter, helped by the acquisition of a bottler and by selling more drinks in North America. The stock rose 0.4 percent.
Walt Disney Co. jumped 5.3 percent after reporting strong earnings after the market closed Tuesday.
