US stocks ended mixed, as the Federal Reserve policy committee met to grapple with economic and financial concerns dogging the recession struck economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16.10 points (0.19 per cent) to end at 8,322.91 a day after posting the largest one-day sell-off in two months.

The tech-dominant Nasdaq lost 1.27 points (0.07 per cent) to 1,764.92 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 rose 2.06 points (0.23 per cent) to 895.10, still below the key 900 level which it fell into Monday for the first time since May 28.

Uncertainty over the two-day Federal Reserve meeting as well as lower than expected home sales and Boeing's delay of its maiden Dreamliner flight and delivery for the fifth time dampened market sentiment.

The Fed meeting injected "some uncertainty into market expectations," said Scott Marcouiller, senior equity market strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors.

"The central bank is widely expected to keep the key rate near zero, but investors are not sure how optimistic the policymakers will be in their economic statement, which will be released tomorrow," he said.

Any Fed comment may offer clues on the timing and strength of an economic recovery. The Fed had taken radical measures to flood the system with money to prime the economy which has contracted since December 2007.