Nasdaq ends closer to 5K; Dow, S&P 500 drop

Stocks ended mixed Thursday a day after Wall Street rallied on news that the Federal Reserve ruled out interest rate hikes at next month's meeting and said it had not "decided on the timing" of the first rate increase in nearly nine years.

Of the three major indexes, only the Nasdaq composite gained. It climbed 0.2% to within 8 points of the 5000 level.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 117 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 17,959.03. Losing 0.5% was the S&P 500.

In a statement, the Fed, as expected, did drop its promise to be "patient" as it weighs interest rate hikes, clearing a path for an eventual increase later this year.

But the Fed said it will bump up its key federal funds rate only when the labor market improves further and inflation prospects pick up from the current meager pace.

Oil prices fell about 2% as U.S. benchmark crude dropped to $43.80 a barrel.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.98% Thursday, after tumbling from 2.05% to 1.92% on Wednesday.

Apple (AAPL) struggled on its first trading day as part of the Dow, falling 0.8%. The tech giant replaced AT&T in the blue chip index of 30 companies. AT&T (T) was down 0.9%.

iDOW: Apple kicks of its 1st trading day in iconic Dow

European stocks were trading mixed as Britain's FTSE 100 index was up 0.3% and Germany's DAX index dropped 0.2%.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.5%.

Thursday, stocks surged after the Fed ruled out interest rate hikes at next month's meeting following a two day meeting that ended Wednesday. The Dow jumped 227.11 to 18,076.19 and the S&P 500 gained 25.22 to 2099.50. The Nasdaq added 45.39 to 4982.83

Contributing: Adam Shell