Stocks Mixed After Late Selloff

(Updated with stock and commodity prices.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- After thriving for much of Wednesday, stocks retreated in a big way just before the close as the Fed signaled no change to its key interest rate.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 30.2 points, or 0.3%, to 9802.1. The S&P 500 gained 1.1 points, or 0.1%, at 1046.5, though the Nasdaq turned negative in the final moments, sliding 1.8 points, or 0.1%, to 2055.5.

The Dow, after opening slightly lower, hit an intraday high of 9928.04, up 156 points, around 2:40 p.m. EST.

After the market close, Dow component Cisco(CSCO Quote) beat profit estimates in reporting earnings per share at an adjusted 36 cents. Shares for the tech bellwether were moving higher by 3.4% in after hours trading.

"In essence, the Fed statement didn't include anything that rocked the boat," says Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "I think the market really got everything it could have expected from the report."

The Federal Open Market Committee said it would maintain record low rates between 0% and 0.25%, while noting that household spending "appears to be expanding."

After initial volatility in the statement's wake, as is usual following FOMC announcements, stocks climbed to session highs. But in the last half hour of trading, the major averages pulled back as the dollar ticked up.

Earlier today, the Institute for Supply Management's service sector index ticked lower to 50.6 in October from a 50.9 reading in September. But many were interpreting the showing positively, with two straight months of a reading over 50, a mark that denotes growth. Analysts expected a rise to 51.5.