Markets close flat Tuesday

NEW YORK, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. markets were flat Tuesday as members of the Open Market Committee at the U.S. Federal Reserve held a one-day policy meeting.

The Fed's Open Market Committee kept lending rates at their historically low levels and left a securities reinvestment program unchanged, calling the U.S. recovery sluggish with unemployment high and credit tight. Housing equity was still in retreat and inflation remained subdued, the Fed said.

Stock markets, meanwhile, kept to a holding pattern for the day, which is typical as investors wait for a policy decision.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average added 7.41 points, 0.07 percent, to 10,761.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 2.93 points, 0.26 percent, to 1,139.78. The Nasdaq composite index lost 0.28 percent, 6.48, to 2,349.35.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,063 stocks advanced and 1,900 declined on a volume of 5.9 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 14/32 to yield 2.576 percent.

The euro rose to $1.3251 from Monday's $1.3062. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 85.13 yen from Monday's 85.75 yen.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.25 percent, 23.98, to 9,602.11.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.47 percent, 26.35, to 5,576.19.