NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks fell for the first time in five days Wednesday, after warnings from Intel and Coca-Cola prompted investors to give back some of the nearly 1,000 Dow points gained during a powerful four-day advance. But good news from IBM after the close helped take the bad taste out of Wall Street's mouth.

Intel's gloomy forecast Tuesday evening cast a shadow over technology stocks. Weakness in consumer, financial and auto stocks hurt the broader market. The Dow Jones industrial average (down 219.65 to 8036.03, Charts) slipped about 2.6 percent. The Nasdaq composite (down 50.02 to 1232.42, Charts) slumped 4 percent, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (down 21.25 to 860.02, Charts) dropped about 2.4 percent.

"The market was in La-La land the last few days," said James Awad, stock market strategist with Awad Asset Management. "We had some good earnings yesterday and we got a positive spasm in response to it in a deeply oversold market."

"But throw in a very visible company lowering its guidance going forward and the focus shifts back to the same problems of an uncertain economy, uncertain earnings and the Middle East problem, which has not changed," Awad added.

La-La land or not, third-quarter results from IBM (IBM: down $3.58 to $64.90, Research, Estimates) after the close had stocks queued for a run back into the green Thursday. Big Blue said that it beat Wall Street estimates by 3 cents, while revenue for the quarter was mostly flat at $19.8 billion versus a forecast for $19.7 billion.

IBM rose $5.25 to $70.15 in after-hours trading, and lifted other tech shares in its wake. Microsoft (MSFT: down $1.88 to $50.41, Research, Estimates) rose 24 cents to $50.65; Intel rose 8 cents to $13.62; Dell Computer (DELL: down $0.52 to $27.02, Research, Estimates) rose 9 cents to $27.11. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 index futures were markedly higher, pointing to a higher open Thursday.

In other earnings news, Intel's main rival, Advanced Micro Devices, posted a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss after the close, citing a weak PC market. AMD's shares rose 29 cents to $3.78 in after-hours trading after the company guided higher for its fourth quarter. Apple Computer (AAPL: down $0.60 to $14.56, Research, Estimates) posted a fourth-quarter profit that was in line with estimates

Techs dominate Thursday's earnings parade, with results expected from Microsoft, eBay, and Sun Microsystems.

Given its industry bellwether status, Intel (INTC: down $2.98 to $13.54, Research, Estimates)'s third-quarter earnings miss and fourth-quarter warning spelled trouble for the entire tech sector Wednesday.

The No. 1 chipmaker late Tuesday dampened its outlook, saying it sees weaker-than-expected gross margins from continued demand slump. A slew of brokerages -- including Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse First Boston and UBS Warburg -- reacted by cutting estimates for Intel. Banc of America downgraded Intel to "market perform" from "buy," while Salomon Smith Barney cut its rating on the stock to "in line" from "outperform."

Intel was the most active stock on the Nasdaq. Looking back at the stock's long-term performance, Intel shares are down about 63 percent from their 52-week high of $36.78, notched Jan. 9.

Meanwhile, chip-equipment makers also were jolted by Intel cutting its capital expenditures for the second time this year. Shares of Applied Materials (AMAT: down $1.07 to $11.98, Research, Estimates), KLA-Tencor (KLAC: down $2.47 to $29.33, Research, Estimates) and PMC-Sierra (PMCS: down $0.33 to $3.77, Research, Estimates) all shed value. Novellus Systems (NVLS: down $1.65 to $24.48, Research, Estimates) beat its profit target but indicated less robust revenue growth going forward due to "anemic demand."

Compounding the tech woes, mobile phone maker Motorola (MOT: down $2.25 to $7.85, Research, Estimates) warned Wednesday about its fourth quarter and 2003, saying it expects fourth-quarter sales in its chip unit to be flat-to-up from third-quarter levels. Motorola Tuesday posted a third-quarter profit that topped forecasts, helped by gains in its mobile phone unit. Motorola was the most active stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

The weakest link on the Dow was Coca-Cola (KO: down $5.28 to $47.20, Research, Estimates). Shares of the No. 1 soft drink maker led the blue-chip decliners after it warned for the rest of the year, citing weakness in its international markets.

Among other names impacted by negative sentiment, aircraft maker Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates) hit its third-quarter target but warned of thinner operating margins and lower revenue through 2003.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's cut its long-term corporate credit rating on automaker General Motors (GM: down $2.56 to $34.14, Research, Estimates), warning it also may downgrade Ford Motor (F: down $0.61 to $8.26, Research, Estimates) on the back of weakening North American demand for autos and mounting pension liabilities.

Financial services firm J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM: down $0.32 to $18.29, Research, Estimates) beat its profit target on with numbers that were sharply lower from the year-earlier period. The company also set 2,000 job cuts, citing a drop in merger and acquisition activities and underwriting fees. Shares of J.P. Morgan and sectormate Citigroup (C: down $0.29 to $33.85, Research, Estimates) have suffered recently from ongoing investigations into both companies' alleged involvement in Enron's demise.

Wednesday's session also marks the one-year anniversary of Enron's shocking third-quarter report that precipitated the collapse of the energy company. A charge of $1 billion quoted in its financial summary stunned investors and unleashed an avalanche of investigations.

Capital One Financial (COF: down $6.79 to $27.85, Research, Estimates) was a big loser of the day among financial issues, dropping about 20 percent after warning of slower growth environment for credit card issuers.

Heavy-equipment market Caterpillar (CAT: up $0.78 to $38.76, Research, Estimates) was a rare blue-chip winner, tacking on gains after it beat its third-quarter estimate and reaffirmed its full-year guidance.

Asian-Pacific stocks finished higher Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.5 percent. European markets closed lower.

Breaking away from the usual pattern of bonds moving inversely to stocks, Treasury prices fell in early trading despite weakness in equities, sending the 10-year note yield to 4.01 percent. The dollar slipped against the yen and was unchanged versus the euro.

"Bonds and stocks are unrelated today. Treasurys have been in a bubble for a while and now we're getting this correction in place. Hedge funds are unwinding their positions and it ought to happen quickly," said Awad.

Market analysts also pointed to Friday's October expiration for stocks, interest rate and index options for the expected volatility in both the fixed-income and equities markets.

Light crude oil futures fell 27 cents to $29.49 a barrel in U.S. trading, where gold was higher.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners beat advancers about 3-to-1 as 1.5 billion shares traded. On the Nasdaq, losers beat winners nearly 2-to-1 as 1.5 billion shares changed hands.