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Stocks struggled to climb at the opening of markets on Thursday, following the previous day's sharp rally after the Federal Reserve surprised Wall Street by opting to maintain its stimulus package of $85 billion-per-month asset purchases.
(Read more: Tepper: Fed wants growth first, second, and third)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which soared 147 points to a record high on Wednesday, toggled in and out of the red and was just 4 points ahead in early morning trading, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose barely. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 13.
On the economic front, the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 309,000, according to the Labor Department. But analysts said the reading was distorted as two states were still working through a backlog of unprocessed claims from last week.
Existing home sales, a Philadelphia Fed survey and leading indicators were all being released later in the day.
On Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank was not ready to cut back on stimulus measures, citing tightening financial conditions that could hurt employment. The decision surprised Wall Street analysts who had expected a $10 billion to $15 billion reduction in the central bank's monthly bond purchases.
Stocks ripped higher following the announcement, with the Dow and S&P 500 setting fresh highs.
The Fed cited rising mortgage rates for its decision, and also blamed Washington, where Congress is heading toward another showdown on the debt ceiling. On Wednesday, President Obama told a gathering of business leaders that Washington was stuck in a stalemate over budgets, debt and healthcare costs, leaving government unable to function properly.
"Federal fiscal policy continues to be a restraint on growth and a source of downside risk," Bernanke said at a press conference following the Fed announcement.
(Read more: Next up for the market? Government shutdown!)
Asian and European equity markets enjoyed a risk-on rally on Thursday on the news. Emerging markets led the gains, as investors searched for higher-yielding assets, on the expectation that the Fed's continued liquidity boost would benefit these countries.
Daiwa's Chris Scicluna said the Fed's silence on when it might start tapering off its stimulus suggested it might not start scaling back until 2014.
"The FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) again was content to leave uncertainty persisting over quite when exactly it might start to taper, with Bernanke emphasizing that there is no fixed time-table, and that the Committee's decisions about the pace of purchases will be data-contingent, as well as dependent upon a cost-benefit analysis of the program. So, while still possible, there is far from a done deal that tapering will start by year-end," Scicluna said in a research note.
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