Dow Jones, S&P500, Nasdaq go down

Intel, the world's largest microchip maker, said late on Tuesday that quarterly profit fell 40 percent and gross margins would not improve.

Intel shares dropped 5.7 percent, or $1.26, to $21.04, their biggest one-day percentage fall since mid-July. Apple’s stock lost 2.2 percent, or $2.15, to $94.95.

NYMEX February crude rose $1.03 to settle at $52.24 a barrel. That price, however, is down sharply from its year-end level when NYMEX crude was more than $61 per barrel.

Economic data on Wednesday showed a stronger-than-expected gain in the Producer Price Index in December and a rise in December industrial production above economists' forecast. APA