NEW YORK - US STOCKS closed lower on Wednesday in choppy trading after investors refocused on economic problems a day after a huge rally driven by a Federal Reserve interest rate cut and pledge to revive the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 102.67 points (1.15 per cent) to 8,821.47 at the closing bell.

The tech-rich Nasdaq fell 10.58 points (0.67 per cent) to 1,579.31 and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index retreated 8.92 points (0.98 per cent) to 904.26.

Investors encountered 'stiff selling pressure' as the session entered its final leg, said analysts at Briefing.com.

'That has caused the major indices to surrender their gains and slip back into negative territory,' it said, citing brief gains chalked up in early trading.

Stocks slid lower 'as worries about the economy return and replace the euphoria that followed the Fed's rate decision and statement that it will use all available means to support growth', Charles Schwab & Co analysts said.

On Tuesday, the Fed slashed its key federal funds rate to virtually zero for the first time and pledged extraordinary efforts to get credit flowing and stimulate the world's biggest economy, stuck in recession for the past year. -- AFP