NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. stocks fell Wednesday, sending the Nasdaq composite index lower for the first time in seven sessions, as investors sold many of the shares that rose this spring.
Losses in technology, financial and energy stocks handed the Dow Jones industrial average its first triple-digit loss of the month.
But the decline caused little alarm on Wall Street, where analysts expected some selling following a two-month advance.
"I wouldn't be worried about it at all," Mark Donahoe, institutional equity trader at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, told CNNfn's The Money Gang. "I think it's very natural to see some backing and filling after the gains we've had."
No one event sparked the decline. Both Semtech, a chipmaker, and Dillard's, a retailer, served up financial disappointments. Merrill Lynch lowered its profit outlook for No. 2 software maker Oracle. And the latest initial public offering, Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group, fell in its first day of trading.
Analysts linked some of the drop to developments on Capitol Hill, where Republicans may lose control of the Senate. Vermont lawmaker James Jeffords reportedly may become an independent, shifting control to the Democrats.
"That adds an element of uncertainty," Jeffrey Benton, trader at LaBranche & Co., told CNNfn's Market Call.
The Nasdaq fell 70.37 points, or 3 percent, to 2,243.48, breaking a win streak not seen since February 2000. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 151.73, or 1.4 percent, to 11,105.51, its first decline of more than 100 points this month.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 20.33, or 1.5 percent, to 1,289.05.
More stocks fell than rose. Declining issues on the New York Stock Exchange topped advancing ones 2,036 to 1,033 on trading volume of 1.1 billion shares. Nasdaq losers beat winners 2,417 to 1,462 as 1.8 billion shares changed hands.
In other markets, the dollar rose against the euro but fell versus the yen. Treasury securities gained.
A streak comes to an end
Wednesday marked the Nasdaq's first losing session since May 14, the day before the Federal Reserve last cut interest rates.
Blame some of the latest losses on semiconductor stocks, which fell amid news that new chip orders fell 41 percent in April, according to a trade group.
Texas Instruments (TXN: down $1.73 to $39.58, Research, Estimates), Applied Materials (AMAT: down $3.65 to $52.94, Research, Estimates) and Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC: down $2.63 to $23.82, Research, Estimates) declined.
Semtech (SMTC: down $5.58 to $30.63, Research, Estimates) said results in the current quarter would miss expectations, joining Chartered Semiconductor, Palm and Hewlett-Packard among recent companies warning about shortfalls.
Among the Dow industrials, many of the stocks that rose this spring pulled back. Oil producer Exxon-Mobil (XOM: down $1.54 to $87.27, Research, Estimates), American Express (AXP: down $1.35 to $44.70, Research, Estimates), the credit card issuer, and chemical maker DuPont (DD: down $1.92 to $47.39, Research, Estimates) all declined.
Boeing (BA: down $2.00 to $66.00, Research, Estimates) also hurt the Dow industrials, where only four of 30 stocks rose. The world's biggest aircraft maker said it is in talks with Britain's BAE Systems about a military tanker joint venture.
Still, no one corporate development caused the broad selling that many expected eventually would follow the recent gains.
"I would not sell because of the pullback," Tony Dwyer, market strategist at Kirlin Holdings, told CNNfn's Market Call.
Dwyer said he expects the gains, which have come on the hope that the economy will rebound in coming quarters, to resume.
"I think (the losses are) going to be very brief," he said.
Oracle (ORCL: down $0.75 to $16.83, Research, Estimates) fell after Merrill Lynch cut its profit outlook for the No. 2 software maker, saying it expects it to continue to lag the software industry's recovery.
But not all tech stocks suffered. Dell Computer (DELL: up $0.87 to $26.81, Research, Estimates) rose after Goldman Sachs added the No. 1 maker of personal computers to its "recommended list."
Goldman Sachs (GS: down $3.99 to $99.30, Research, Estimates) also was in the news. The company said it cut 150 investment banking jobs, joining the many firms trimming payrolls to lower costs.
Retailer Dillard's (DDS: down $2.54 to $16.98, Research, Estimates) posted a lower first-quarter profit that missed Wall Street estimates.
But the market appears to be looking beyond the slowing sales and rising jobless to a time of rising profits.
The Nasdaq's recent rise put it more than 40 percent above its April low while the Dow industrials stand just 5.2 percent below their all-time high.
Federal Reserve policy makers cut interest rates five times this year, moves that should help the economy by spurring consumer and business spending.
In one sign of optimism, investors pumped $21 billion into stock funds in April, data tracker Lipper Inc. said Wednesday, following outflows during February and March.
"(On) any pullback I think you're going to see some support," Art Hogan, market strategist at Jefferies & Co., told Market Call.
In another sign of recovery, the initial public offering market, which essentially closed during the market's slide, has shown signs of life.
Peabody Energy (BTU: up $1.15 to $37.95, Research, Estimates) and Global Power Equipment Group (GEG: up $1.15 to $36.70, Research, Estimates), two energy companies, both drew strong demand when they went public this month.
But the debut of Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group (SWRG: Research, Estimates) did poorly. Shares of the restaurant chain fell 8.5 percent to $7.77.
Wall Street also focused on the possible Jeffords defection in Congress. That power shift could affect some of the Bush administration's agenda on tax cuts, whose promise has helped stocks rally this spring.
"Wall Street would generally rather see Republicans in control of the Senate," said Tony Crescenzi, strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.
Jeffords said he will announce a decision Thursday. 
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