At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86.58 points (1.16 per cent) to 7400.00, following gains in six of the prior seven sessions.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 7.74 points (0.52 per cent) to 1483.48 and the S&P500 shed 10.37 points (1.31 per cent) to a preliminary close of 783.98.
Wall Street had rallied a day earlier and European markets followed with strong gains after the Fed's surprise announcement on buying up to $US300 billion in Treasury bonds and an additional $US850 billion in other debt in a bid to bring down lending costs and fire up the moribund economy.
Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com said the Fed's actions got a positive initial from the stock market but that the move will not be a quick fix for the slumping US economy.
"Lower rates will be a consequence of the Fed's actions. It is the potential unintended consequences, though, that create some concern when contemplating the longer-term outlook," he said.
"The Fed runs a heightened risk of inflating the Treasury market bubble and stoking inflation itself. What's more is that the Fed has made its job of managing monetary policy that much more difficult when economic evidence suggests we are emerging from the financial crisis and the recession."
Will stock market’s rally stick or vanish?
Shares continue gains in noon trade
