NEW YORK - WALL Street saw a rally fizzle Wednesday as investors gave a muted reaction to a Federal Reserve decision to maintain its present course of stimulating the economy with low rates and extra liquidity.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 35.35 points (0.32 per cent) to 9,803.19 at the closing bell, reversing gains of over 100 points earlier in the day.

The Nasdaq composite turned lower, losing 2.49 points (0.12 per cent) to 2,054.83 while the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 1.03 points (0.10 per cent) to a preliminary close of 1,046.44.

The market rose in anticipation of the Fed announcement and then saw choppy action after the central bank offered no surprises in its outlook or monetary policy.

The policymaking Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), headed by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, said after a two-day meeting that 'although economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time,' its actions would support economic recovery.

The committee held the federal funds rate at zero to 0.25 per cent and said it expects 'exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period'. The good news is the Fed is not likely to raise rates anytime soon, but the bad news is that the economy remains too weak to allow even a modest rise in rates, said Boris Schlossberg at Global Forex Trading. -- AFP