US stocks closed mostly flat on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced, as expected, an expansion of bond purchases to support the sluggish economy.

After a surge on the Fed’s announcement of more stimulus, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell back to end down 3.30 points (0.02 per cent) at 13,245.14 in closing trade.

The S&P 500-stock index edged up 0.71 point (0.05 per cent) to 1,428.55, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite lost 8.49 (0.28 per cent) to 3,013.81.