NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street staggered through another volatile session yesterday, finally closing mostly lower after a Federal Reserve report showed some economic growth at the end of 2007 and after Intel Corp.'s disappointing profit report.

Stocks gave up a modest rally in the final 20 minutes of trading, continuing the fluctuations seen throughout the session as investors combed corporate profit reports and economic news that supported varying views about the soundness of the economy.

Stocks initially gained after the Fed report - its Beige Book survey of regional economies - suggested economic activity increased modestly from mid-November through December, though at a slower pace than in a previous survey.

The report seemed to quell some concerns about prospects for the economy that took on fresh urgency after Intel Corp. issued disappointing earnings after the closing bell on Tuesday.

The Fed's report bolstered enthusiasm among bullish investors who pointed to better-than-expected results from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. The banks' reports appeared to remind Wall Street that while the fallout of souring loans was widespread, it wasn't necessarily evenly felt. And buyout news in the tech sector also gave a boost to sentiment.

"I think the market is trying to find some kind of a correction point," said Subodh Kumar, global investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Association in Toronto. "The talk on Wall Street has been about recession. Maybe the Beige Book has underscored that the US is in a slowdown but that it doesn't look like precipitous one."

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 34.95, or 0.28 percent, to 12,466.16.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 7.75, or 0.56 percent, to 1,373.20, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 23, or 0.95 percent, to 2,394.59.

Investors remained edgy yesterday, particularly after a drop on Tuesday that took the Dow down nearly 280 points. Predictions by some economists that a recession is at hand have rattled Wall Street in recent weeks.

Intel was by far the biggest decliner among the 30 stocks that make up the Dow and also weighed on the tech-dominated Nasdaq. The chip maker fell 70 cents, or 12.4 percent, to $19.88.

Advancing issues narrowly outpaced decliners two on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 2.11 billion shares compared with 1.53 billion traded on Tuesday.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.73 percent from 3.68 percent late on Tuesday. The dollar fell against most other major currencies - hitting a two-and-a-half-year low against the yen - but rose against the euro. Gold prices, which have hit record levels in recent sessions, eased.

Light, sweet crude settled down $1.06 at $90.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the government reported that domestic oil supplies rose unexpectedly last week. During the session oil fell below $90 for the first time since December 19.

Intel's failure to meet forecasts for the fourth quarter, along with first-quarter projections that came in at the low end of analysts' predictions, weighed on technology stocks. Earlier this week, there was market speculation that the technology sector, which sometimes benefits from a weak dollar and overseas strength, might be able to better withstand an economic slowdown in the US.

The tech arena did see some cheer yesterday, thanks to Oracle Corp.'s deal to buy BEA Systems Inc. for about $7.85 billion. Last year BEA rejected a less expensive bid from Oracle, which raised its offer but not to the level sought by BEA.

Mr. Kumar contends markets will remain jumpy as Wall Street sorts out its concerns about the economy as well as the troubles with bad debt.

"Volatility will probably remain high into midyear because analyst expectations are coming down quite rapidly and we're in the eye of the storm as far as credit write-downs go for banks," he said.

Beyond the Beige Book, which arrived two weeks before the Fed's next meeting, other economic news added to Wall Street's concerns. The Labour Department also said inflation jumped by the highest amount in 17 years in 2007 amid a spike in energy and food costs. Excluding those areas, so-called core inflation remained relatively stable.