The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.36 to 5,703.02.
Decliners led advancers by 1,208 to 1,105 on the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE volume totaled 334.57 million shares vs. 387.46 million in the previous session.
Broader indicators finished negative, too, with the Nasdaq market showing the worst losses on continuing concerns about computer industry earnings.
The NYSE composite slipped 0.64 to 360.37, and the S&P 500 list fell 1.21 to 672.40.
The Nasdaq composite sank 9.28 to 1,181.87, while the American Stock Exchange's market value index rose 0.09 to 579.65.
"The market was off on some trepidation. So when the Fed passed on an increase, we got a little bit of a rally," said William Dodge, portfolio manager at Marvin & Palmer Associates of Wilmington, Del. "But it's going to be at least a few weeks before we settle concerns about earnings in key areas such as technology."
Shares of Digital Equipment fell $1.25 on Wednesday to $39.12-1/2, adding to Tuesday's drop of more than $4 on an announcement that its earnings from the second quarter will fall shy of expectations. Hewlett Packard and Sun Microsystems also slipped on Wednesday after some brokerages reportedly downgraded their opinions on those companies.
The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond was little changed. Its yield fell to 6.93 percent, down one basis point from late Tuesday.