NEW YORK?US stocks were mixed Wednesday after new-home sales tumbled to a record low and the Federal Reserve signaled caution over the US economic recovery while maintaining ultra-low interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.92 points (0.05 percent) to 10,298.44 while the tech-rich Nasdaq index shed 7.57 points (0.33 percent) at 2,254.23.

The S&P 500 index, a broader measure of the markets, retreated 3.27 points (0.30 percent) to 1,092.04.

Market sentiment was dampened after the government said new-home sales dropped 32.7 percent from a month earlier to 300,000 in May, raising the prospect of an economic recovery slowdown.

In addition, a statement by Federal Reserve policymakers after a two-day meeting "weighed in with a notably gloomier outlook on the economy," said analyst Elizabeth Harrow of Schaeffer's Investment Research.

But analysts at Charles Schwab & Co. said that "while the Fed downgraded its assessment of the economy by noting financial market conditions were 'less supportive,' the maintenance of low rates amid global uncertainty was taken positively by some traders."

The Federal Open Market Committee said it was maintaining its federal funds rate target between zero and 0.25 percent, where it has been kept since December 2008 to help the economy recover from its worst recession in decades.

The Fed also warned that Europe's fiscal problems were taking a toll.

"Financial conditions have become less supportive of economic growth on balance, largely reflecting developments abroad," the committee said.

Among stocks in focus was Philip Morris International, which rose 3.33 percent to $46.49 after the world's largest publicly traded tobacco maker forecast higher 2010 earnings.

Adobe Systems fell 7.27 percent to $30.38 despite a solid second-quarter profit report.

Drugstore chain Rite Aid jumped rose 5.94 percent to $1.07 after it trimmed losses in the fiscal first quarter with spending cuts.

Athletic-shoe maker Nike, which ended 0.08 percent higher at $72.52, said after the market closed that its net income jumped 53 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, but revenue growth missed analysts' expectations.

Bonds rose. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell to 3.115 percent from 3.166 percent while that of the 30-year bond dipped to 4.060 percent from 4.099 percent.