Stocks stumble as Fed sticks with stimulus

No records Wednesday on Wall Street: Stocks ended lower after the Federal Reserve said it would continue buying bonds to help stimulate the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.4%, while the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite ended down 0.5% each.

In a statement after a two-day meeting, the Fed said it would continue to purchase $85 billion a month in Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities to hold down long-term interest rates and stimulate economic growth.

Stock indexes had hovered around or just above the break-even point till about 11 a.m. ET before turning lower. After the Fed's 2 p.m. announcement, they fell further, even though the central bank had been widely expected to keep its easy money policy in place.

General Motors finished up 3.3% after the carmaker reported third-quarter earnings of $698 million, after the cost of special items.

That's down 53% from a year ago on a slight increase in revenue to $39 billion -- which still exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury was up 0.8%, to 2.5%.

Benchmark crude oil for December delivery was 1.5% lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped 48 cents to settle Tuesday at $98.20.

On Tuesday, the Dow gained 0.7% to 15,680.35 and the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 1,771.95 as both indexes closed at all-time highs. The Nasdaq added 0.3%, to 3,952.34.

Japan's Nikkei 225 ended up 1.2% at 14,502.35.

The major benchmarks in Europe traded within a narrow range around the even mark.

Contributing: Paul Davidson, James R. Healey