NEW YORK—The three major U.S. stock indexes rose 1 percent on Wednesday as investors mostly took in stride the latest signals from the Federal Reserve, including clearing the way for the central bank to reduce its monthly bond purchases soon. The S&P 500 registered its biggest daily percentage gain since July 23. While trading was choppy following the Fed’s latest policy statement and comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, stocks finished close to where they were before the central bank news. In its statement, the central bank also suggested interest rate increases may follow more quickly than expected and said overall indicators in the economy “have continued to strengthen.” Stocks began the day higher as concerns eased over a default by China’s Evergrande. Evergrande’s main unit said it had negotiated a deal with bondholders to settle interest payments on a domestic bond. Bank shares rose following the Fed news, with …