NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks finished Wednesday's session where they spent much of the afternoon: near the neutral line and in mixed territory. Immediately after the Federal Open Market Committee announced it kept its key rate near zero and gave a somewhat melancholy assessment of the economy, stocks got some energy.



But a disappointing new-home sales report weighed on the markets throughout the day.



The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 5 points higher, or 0.1%, at 10,298. The S&P 500 slipped 3 points, or 0.3%, at 1092, and the Nasdaq trailed 8 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 2254.



Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig continued taking issue with the 'exceptionally low ... for an extended period' language in reference to the key rate and remained the lone dissenter in the statement.



But a 32.7% tumble in May new-home sales set the market tone earlier in the day.



'Certainly the new-home sales data took the market down. It was trading higher after the selloff yesterday, but the truth of the matter is that the economic numbers that have been coming out for the past six weeks or so have been disappointing,' said David Chalupnik, head of equities at First American Funds. 'They've been putting the recovery into question and have been creating expectations for a weak recovery.'



Following the EIA's supply report, crude oil for August delivery declined by $1.50 to settle at $76.35 a barrel.



Elsewhere in commodity markets, the August gold contract settled $6 lower at $1,234.80 an ounce.