New York  - US stocks declined Wednesday as oil prices fell and banks were dragged down by fears of more bad loans on the books.

The declines ended a seven-day winning streak for the major Wall Street indices amid optimism about the struggling US economy and a run of better-than-expected quarterly earnings.

US home lender Wells Fargo & Co said its second-quarter profit surged 81 per cent to 3.17 billion dollars, but it also said toxic loans in the US housing market rose unexpectedly. The bank's stock dropped 3.6 per cent.

Energy companies were driven lower as crude oil prices fell, but technology stocks gained on a positive earnings report from tech giant Apple.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 34.68 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 8,881.26. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index edged down 0.51 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 954.07. But the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 10.18 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 1,926.38.

The US currency was virtually unchanged against the euro at 70.34 euro cents from 70.35 euro cents on Tuesday. The dollar fell against the Japanese currency to 93.59 yen from 93.75 yen. (dpa)