The Dow Jones industrial index closed unchanged, while the broad S&P 500 index rose 0.2 percent and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index 0.5 percent.
The stock market looked set to fall but rose at the end of the trading day.
As so often in recent weeks, it is primarily President Donald Trump's shifting statements on import tariffs that are causing headaches for analysts.
But also concerns about a weakening labor market, warnings of domestic recession, and signs of rising inflation have caused prices to fall.
On Tuesday, fears were fueled by a monthly index showing that American consumers' confidence in the economy fell more than expected in March.
Darkest Economic Outlook
As for economic outlook, confidence was even darker. The index fell 9.6 percentage points to 65.2 – the lowest result in twelve years, writes CNBC.
The mood continues to sink among investors, consumers, and companies as economic fears and economic-political uncertainty take their toll. Until there is more security on the tariff and macro front, the mood and confidence will remain vulnerable, says Bret Kenwell, analyst at online broker Etoro, according to news agency Bloomberg.
President's media company Trump Media rose 8.9 percent on reports of a planned collaboration with cryptocurrency company Crypto.com.
Bumpy Ride
Among the winners were also International Paper, manufacturer of packaging cardboard, and cybersecurity company Crowdstrike, which rose 6.5 and 3.3 percent, respectively.
Transport company United Parcel stood out in the opposite direction with a fall of 5.1 percent. Pharmaceutical companies Merck and Abbvie fell 4.8 and 3.7 percent, respectively.
It has been a bumpy ride for Wall Street in recent weeks, not least due to the tariff confusion. On Wednesday next week, a long series of tariffs are expected to come into effect.
