The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29.07 to 6,061.80, recovering from a 53-point loss during the last hour of trading.
Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 5-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 921 up, 1,537 down and 826 unchanged.
NYSE volume totaled 410.68 million shares, vs. 414.62 million yesterday. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 3.28 to 706.57, and the NYSE's composite index fell 1.70 to 376.22.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 16.53 to 1,219.88, and the American Stock Exchange index fell 3.58 to 573.29.
The biggest losses came as investors took profits in the technology-heavy Nasdaq market.
After the close of yesterday's trading, Microsoft reported that strong demand for its operating systems and office software produced another record quarterly profit. But the results failed to beat expectations by as wide a margin as Intel did last week.
Many leading technology shares had rallied sharply in advance of the earnings reporting period as investors used signs of growing chip demand to bet on a strong quarter.
Stocks were also pressured by rising interest rates in the bond market. As bond prices fell, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose to 6.84 percent from late yesterday's 6.80 percent.