NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stock markets finished lower Wednesday as late-day profit taking and concerns over rising interest rates seized investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 38.30 to 9271.76, Charts) slid 0.4 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index (down 6.32 to 984.03, Charts) clocked a 0.6 percent loss. The Nasdaq composite (down 0.40 to 1686.61, Charts) ended less than a point lower than where it began the day.

The selling stemmed largely from profit taking. Tuesday's decision by the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged and to signal that it will keep them low for a while led to a rally on Wall Street in the last hour of trading. (For more on the Fed and interest rates, click here.)

But traders said rising bond yields also weighed on stocks Wednesday, as concerns about rising interest rates crept back into the market. Treasury prices deteriorated as the day progressed, with the 10-year note yield rising to 4.57 percent from 4.42 percent late Tuesday.

Meanwhile, positive economic reports from early in the session and strength in the chip sector helped limit declines.

Investors could take direction Thursday from some key economic reports due before trading begins.

The government plans to release its reading on producer prices, which economists forecast rose 0.1 percent in July after rising 0.5 percent in June, according to a survey by Briefing.com. Wall Street expects core PPI, which excludes often-volatile energy and food prices, also gained 0.1 percent after dropping 0.1 percent in June.

Also due before the open is the report on jobless claims for last week. The weekly number has grown in importance to investors in recent months as they hope for signs that the economy is recovering and the labor market is growing. Wall Street forecasts claims rose to 393,000 last week from 390,000 the preceding week. But any number below 400,000 still signals job growth. Jobless claims have held under 400,000 for the past three weeks.

Investors also will eye the minutes from the June meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee, due late in the day.

Meanwhile, earnings from Dell Computer (DELL: down $0.46 to $31.31, Research, Estimates), due after the closing bell, could also prove to be a market mover. Analysts, on average, expect the company to post second-quarter earnings of 24 cents a share, up from 19 cents in the same period last year.

Retailer Target (TGT: down $0.06 to $39.94, Research, Estimates) was scheduled to post earnings before the open, and Kohl's (KSS: up $0.01 to $61.50, Research, Estimates) was set to report after the close Thursday.

Early Wednesday, the Commerce Department said retail sales jumped 1.4 percent in July from an upwardly revised 0.9 percent gain in June. The advance was bigger than economists' expected 1 percent rise. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.8 percent, beating Wall Street's forecast of a 0.5 percent gain.

Separately, the government said business inventories rose 0.1 percent. Economists had been expecting a decline of 0.1 percent.

The stock market had been surging since March on the hope that the second half of the year would bring a boost in economic growth, but the rally stalled over the past month even as many of the recent economic reports signaled a pickup in the economy. Traders said investors would need stronger signs of economic growth -- like unexpectedly good news in the labor market and business spending -- to make any real moves during the traditionally slow summer months.

"If we can go steady for the rest of August and September, we could set ourselves up for a nice rally in October," said Donald Selkin, director of research at Joseph Stevens.

Though earnings season has virtually come to a close, a few heavyweights drew attention Wednesday with their quarterly reports.

Dow component Wal-Mart (WMT: down $0.73 to $58.07, Research, Estimates), the world's largest retailer, posted fiscal second-quarter earnings of 52 cents a share early Wednesday, in line with analysts' average estimate and up from 46 cents in the same period last year. But shares of the top retailer slipped 1.3 percent after the company said earnings for the full year would come in slightly below Wall Street's average estimate, according to Reuters Research.

Techs got a lift from chip equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT: up $0.62 to $19.07, Research, Estimates), whose shares rallied 3.4 percent. The company reported a quarterly loss, due to restructuring and other charges, late Tuesday. But, excluding the charges, the company posted earnings that were a penny better than expected.

AMAT's outlook was mixed, with its chief financial officer saying that current-quarter revenue and earnings would miss Wall Street estimates. The chip sector made gains, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index bouncing 1.9 percent.

Elsewhere in the market, Pfizer (PFE: down $1.31 to $31.56, Research, Estimates) came under pressure after European rival AstraZeneca (AZN: up $0.60 to $41.50, Research, Estimates) said it received regulatory approval to sell its cholesterol treatment in the United States. Pfizer's shares dropped 4 percent.

The recent rise in mortgage rates dragged homebuilders' stocks lower Wednesday. Hovnanian (HOV: down $2.74 to $51.08, Research, Estimates) slid 5.2 percent, while Ryland Group (RYL: down $2.83 to $63.67, Research, Estimates) lost 4.5 percent and Toll Brothers (TOL: down $1.83 to $27.72, Research, Estimates) slipped 6.2 percent.

Market breadth was mixed, with declining issues leading advancers nine to seven on the New York Stock Exchange, where 1.2 billion shares traded. On the Nasdaq, where 1.4 billion shares changed hands, winners edged past losers.

European markets were mixed at Wednesday's close. Asian stocks ended mostly in positive territory.

NYMEX light sweet crude oil futures slid $1.02 to $30.80 a barrel. COMEX gold rose $3.70 to $363.70 an ounce.

The dollar gained against the yen but lost ground against the euro.