The market appeared indecisive for much of the day, with the major indexes fluctuating in and out of positive territory. But stocks turned lower toward the close as investors had little incentive to buy.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average declined 28.11, or 0.3 percent, to 10,444.73 after three consecutive daily gains.

Broader markets also fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was off 5.12, or 0.5 percent, at 1,135.48, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index was down 13.00, or 0.6 percent, at 2,036.77.

The Commerce Department’s report that new-home sales jumped by 8.9 percent in March, the largest monthly increase in nine months, depressed a market already worried that a healthy economy will push rates higher.

Investors have been preoccupied with interest rates for the past two weeks after strong economic data and comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made it clear that the cost of borrowing will likely to rise sooner rather than later. The reality of an impending rate hike has generally overshadowed positive economic news and the very strong earnings reports many companies have issued.

Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo & Co., said the volatility in the market reflected the seesaw of investor emotions: "One day, we’re impressed by earnings and shares rise. Without that, the fear of high interest rates takes over and the market goes down."

Sohn also said there was little to propel trading upward because "to many, the stock market seems either fairly valued or overvalued, so there’s not much more value to be squeezed out."

Tim Connors, chief investment officer for value equities at Delaware Investments in Philadelphia, said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the overall market move sideways for some time.

"It could be a case where the broad market doesn’t do a lot, but that some sectors do better or more poorly," Connors said. He suggested that investors look at "defensive" sectors such as telecommunications, consumer staples and health care.