Wall Street ended an erratic day with a modest gain after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and issued a mixed assessment of the economy.

Stocks finished an erratic week narrowly mixed today after a government report of a steep decline in new home sales stirred concerns that weakness in housing will continue to dog the economy.

US stocks surged ahead today after the Federal Reserve said the US economy seemed likely to keep growing at its current pace, and after the central bank also softened its tone about possible rate hikes.

Stocks plummeted today, briefly hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 550 points as Wall Street succumbed to a global market plunge sparked by growing concerns that the US and Chinese economies are cooling and that equities prices have become over-inflated.

Stocks pulled back today after the Commerce Department reported that the US economy grew at the slowest pace in more than three years and stirred concern that a desired soft landing in the economy might prove elusive.