NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks had another wild ride Thursday, scaling great heights and then nosediving.

"Yesterday's FOMC decision and Powell's presser was both positive and negative for markets, but in the end, it mostly reinforced what we know: The Fed is serious about raising rates, that's going to continue to ... keep markets volatile," Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report, said in a note to client Thursday, as reported by CNBC.

At the finish, the Dow Jones was down 7.31 points or 0.02 percent at 34,160.78.

The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite shed 189.34 points or 1.40 percent to 13,352.78.

The Standard and Poor's 500 dropped 23.42 points or 0.54 percent to 4,326.51.

While stocks were mixed there was no confusion on foreign exchange markets. The only currency being bought up was the U.S. dollar.

The euro sank to 1.1143 approaching the New York close Thursday. The British pound tumbled to 1.3318. The Japanese yen slid to 115.33. The Swiss franc was sharply weaker at 0.9312.1.2742. The Australian dollar was unwanted at 0.7030. The New Zealand dollar declined to 0.6578. The Canadian dollar fell to 1.2742.

The FTSE 100 in London added 1.13 percent. The German Dax climbed 0.42 percent, while the Paris-based CAC 40 was up 0.60 percent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 shattered, losing 841.03 points or 3.11 percent to close Thursday at 26,170.30.

The Australian All Ordinaries fell 133.60 points or 1.84 percent to 7,114.50.

China's Shanghai Composite dropped 61.42 points or 1.78 percent to 3,394.25.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 482.90 points or 1.99 percent to 23,807.04.