The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 46.17 points (0.58 per cent) yesterday to 7,945.26 on sales which concentrated on high-tech and blue-chip shares.

Some 591 million shares changed hands with advancers outnumbering decliners 1,613 to 1,278 and 512 issues unchanged.

On the bond market, the average yield of benchmark, 30-year Treasury bonds was 6.40 per cent against 6.38 per cent Tuesday.

The bond market tensed slightly after the decision by the US Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee to leave key interest rates unchanged.

Wall Street suffered from trader jitters over prospects of lacklustre third-quarter results, especially in the high-tech sector.

Western Digital, the hard-disk maker, announced its upcoming figures would fail to meet analysts' expectations because of stiffer competition. Intel was down as was Texas Instruments and Microsoft. Mining stocks rose on gold's gain.