The Dow Jones industrial average ended little changed, while the S&P 500 lost 0.3%. The Nasdaq declined 0.2%.
For the week, the Dow lost more than 2%, the biggest weekly decline since June 1. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq suffered similar declines.
Despite this week's sell off, stocks are still up for the year. The Dow has risen more than 7% so far in 2012. The market has been supported by monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve and better-than-expected earnings in the first half of the year.
But the outlook for third quarter earnings is less encouraging. The companies in the S&P 500 are expected to report aggregate earnings that are 1% lower than last year, according to S&P Capital IQ. That would be the weakest quarter in three years.
"Any bad news will not be handled well," said Joseph Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading. "If earnings disappoint, I think the market will continue to sell off."
A report by the Labor Department showed producer prices rose 1.1% in September, higher than anticipated. Government officials attributed much of that to spikes in food and energy prices. Excluding those increases, the prices of finished goods remained unchanged from the previous month.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Oil for November delivery fell 21 cents to end at $91.86 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery fell $10.90 to settle at $1,759.70 an ounce.
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