U.S. stocks and the dollar slipped on yesterday after the Federal Reserve gave no clue about when it might start reducing its purchases of government bonds, even as it said the economic recovery is on track. The Fed said after its latest policy meeting that the economy has been strengthening despite a rise in coronavirus infections and that accelerating inflation remained the result of transitory factors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 slipped marginally but closed almost flat. However, the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.7 percent.