The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.37 points, or 0.01 percent, to 31,839.11. The S&P 500 sank 28.51 points, or 0.74 percent, to 3,830.6. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 228.12 points, or 2.04 percent, to 10,970.99.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 ended in green, with energy and health care up 1.36 percent and 1.12 percent, respectively, leading the gainers. Communication services and technology dipped 4.75 percent and 2.23 percent, respectively, the two worst-performing groups.
Shares of Google-parent Alphabet tumbled more than 9 percent after the company on Tuesday released third-quarter earnings that missed on the top and bottom lines.
Microsoft shares dropped 7.7 percent after the software giant saw cloud-computing growth slow in the latest quarter and issued weak revenue guidance.
Tech heavyweights Amazon and Apple are set to report on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a continued retreat in U.S. Treasury yields helped lift equities. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury fell by around 10 basis points to 4 percent on Wednesday afternoon, after trading as high as 4.3 percent last week. The yield on the policy-sensitive 2-year Treasury note also decreased.
Wednesday's market moves followed a three-day winning streak on Wall Street, as recent soft U.S. economic data fueled speculations that the Federal Reserve might be less aggressive in rate hikes.
Analysts at UBS noted that a pause in rate rises "will remain conditional on a fading inflation and a cooling labor market," adding "this has yet to be seen in the data."
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