Major stock indexes closed with modest losses and the dollar gained ground in choppy trading on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve opted for a supersized cut in its first move to borrowing costs in more than four years.

Wall Street is holding near its records on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kicked off its efforts to prevent a recession with a bigger-than-usual cut to interest rates. The S&P 500 was virtually flat in afternoon trading and 0.

U.S. stock indexes are holding near their records Wednesday ahead of an announcement in the afternoon that's expected to kick off a series of cuts to interest rates meant to prevent a recession. The S&P 500 was 0.