The Dow fell 70.09 to 5,549.93. In the last four sessions, the barometer of big U.S. companies had erased two-thirds of its recent 200-point slide, which was caused by interest rate and inflation worries.

Decliners led advancers by 1,356 to 991 on the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE volume totaled 452.89 million shares vs. 451.53 million in the previous session.

Most of the other broad-market measures also were negative. The NYSE composite fell 1.72 to 344.56, the S&P 500 list fell 3.39 to 641.61, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 3.61 to 1,121.31.

The American Stock Exchange's market value index, which set a new high on Tuesday, managed another increase, rising 1.07 to 580.38.

IBM, which accounted for more than a third of the Dow's slide, began the day higher after releasing an earnings report that beat Wall Street estimates. But a subsequent conference call with the computer maker's chief financial officer raised analyst concerns about profit margins.

Coca-Cola and AT&T Corp. also declined after the two Dow components reported slightly disappointing results.

Bond prices fell, sending the interest rate on the 30-year Treasury note over 6.8 percent, despite a report showing that construction of new homes and apartments slipped 3.9 percent in March - the steepest drop in a year - as mortgage rates continued to climb.

The housing figures were in line with analysts' expectations, but bond prices often rise on signs of sluggishness in the economy, which can prompt the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, making fixed income investments more attractive. Stocks often fall with bonds because higher borrowing costs hurt corporate profits and slow consumer spending.