NEW YORK, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as a downgrade of semiconductor stocks and concerns about global banks offset Warren Buffett's bet on a railway company.

    Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Tuesday agreed to buy Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. in a deal valuing the railroad at 34 billion dollars. Burlington Northern surged more than 20 percent on the acquisition.

    A rise in factory orders also failed to boost the market. The U.S. Commerce Department said orders to factories rose 0.9 percent in September after dropping in August.

    However, investors worried about the health of global banks after UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, reported a fourth straight quarterly loss of about 542 million U.S. dollars, due to hefty accounting charges.

    The Dow was weighed down by a 2.9 percent loss for Intel after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the semiconductor industry.

    Investors also closely watched the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting on interest rates, which started on Tuesday. Investors will be watching for what the Fed has to say about the economy when it issues a statement Wednesday at the conclusion of the meeting. The Fed's benchmark interest rate currently stands at a record low of near zero.

    The Dow Jones industrial average was down 17.53 points, or 0.18percent, to 9,771.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2.53 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,045.41. The Nasdaq composite index was up 8.12 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,057.32.