In opening trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6.06 points (0.08 per cent) to 7,480.52., following gains in six of the past seven sessions.

Wall Street rallied on Wednesday and European markets followed with strong gains on Thursday after the Fed's surprise announcement on buying up to US$300 billion (S$452 billion) in Treasury bonds and an additional US$850 billion in other debt in a bid to bring down lending costs and fire up the moribund economy.

Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com said the Fed's actions got an enthusiastic response from the stock market but that the move will not be a quick fix for the slumping US economy.

'Lower rates will be a consequence of the Fed's actions. It is the potential unintended consequences, though, that create some concern when contemplating the longer-term outlook,' he said.

'The Fed runs a heightened risk of inflating the Treasury market bubble and stoking inflation itself. What's more is that the Fed has made its job of managing monetary policy that much more difficult when economic evidence suggests we are emerging from the financial crisis and the recession.' -- AFP