On Tuesday, higher Treasury yields weighed on the Nasdaq and S&P 500, but UnitedHealth's strong results lifted the Dow.
After beating first-quarter adjusted earnings projections, Dow Component UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) rose 5.6%.
A day after statistics showed U.S. retail sales grew more than expected in March due to a jump in online store receipts, the yield on the 10-year government bond touched five-month highs, limiting the gains.
"(Fed rate expectations) are getting reassessed since the CPI print last week, and the probability of higher for longer is sinking in," said Wedbush Securities managing director of equity trading Michael James.
"That's having an effect on the weakness that's been seen not just today, but for the last week since the CPI print." An official said Israel's military cabinet would meet for the third time in three days to respond to Iran's first direct attack.
Investors will monitor Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other policymakers speak later in the day for indications on policy easing. If inflation doesn't slow, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said "it will be appropriate to hold in place the current restrictive stance of policy for longer".
As traders drastically revised their expectations of how much the Fed will lower rates this year, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are about 4% below record highs set last month.
The LSEG data shows only 42 basis points of easing for money market players. It dropped from 150 bps at the start of the year. Housing (.SPLRCR) and utilities (.SPLRCU) fell over 1%, hurting rate-sensitive sectors the most.
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