NEW YORK — Investors closed out a stellar July by collecting profits yesterday, sending stocks lower despite a respectable reading in the nation's gross domestic product.

The Commerce Department's latest reading on GDP showed the economy growing at an annualized rate of 3.4 percent.

The Fed next meets Aug. 9, and is widely expected to raise the nation's benchmark interest rate to 3.5 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 64.64, or 0.60 percent, to 10,640.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 9.54, or 0.77 percent, at 1,234.18, and the Nasdaq composite lost 13.61, or 0.62 percent, to 2,184.83.

A string of bullish economic data and strong corporate earnings combined to make July a strong month on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq seeing its best month since December 2003.

But the major indexes ended the week mixed. The Dow fell 0.1 percent, while the S&P edged 0.04 percent higher and the Nasdaq gained 0.23 percent.

Oil prices again topped $60 per barrel. A barrel of light crude settled at $60.57 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

However, a key barometer of future economic growth showed consumers still appear willing to spend. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for July came in at 96.5, slightly higher than in June.

Declining issues led advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where final consolidated volume came to 1.6 billion shares, compared with 2.02 billion on Thursday. The Russell 2000 index was down 3.29, or 0.48 percent, at 679.75.