(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished lower on Wednesday as investors were spooked by steep fall in commodity shares. Shares also retreated on mixed earnings report and economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 26 points or 0.29% to finish at 9,070.72. The S&P 500 fell 4.47 points or 0.46% to end at 975.15. The Nasdaq Composite declined 7.75 points or 0.39% to 1,967.76.

According to US Department of Commerce, orders for durable goods fell 2.5% in June. Economists on average had projected a decline of 0.6%.

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book of anecdotal evidence on the economy reveled that that the pace of economic decline in their regions has moderated or begun to stabilize.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: ) plunged $1.07 or 2.49% to $41.83. Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: ) lost 25 cents or 2.22% to close at $11.01.

Shares of General Electric (NYSE: ) tumbled 26 cents or 2.08% to $12.26.

DuPont Co. (NYSE: ) slid 56 cents or 1.86% to $29.54.

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: ) plummeted 28 cents or 1.75% to $15.75.

Among energy stocks, Chevron Corp. (NYSE: ) slumped $1.22 or 1.79% to end at $67.12. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) fell 46 cents or 0.64% to $71.43.

Meanwhile, Microsoft (NASDAQ: )  and Yahoo (NASDAQ: ) announced on Wednesday that they had agreed to collaborate on Internet search and online advertising.