Wall Street bounced around in choppy trading on Wednesday after an early stocks rally faded on uncertainty about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech to central bankers on Friday.

Equity indices rose after a stronger-than-expected increase in July durable goods orders but turned lower, and traders were on tenterhooks over whether Bernanke will hint at actions by the Fed to aid the struggling economy and markets.

Sectors that led the brief rally, such as energy and technology, quickly shed gains, a sign investors remain unconvinced that weeks of selling are over. Growth stocks such as Nvidia and Netflix, which recovered on Tuesday, dipped.

It's hard to get traction on the upside even after yesterday's rally, said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 33.71 points, or 0.30 percent, to 11,143.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 3.98 points, or 0.34 percent, to 1,158.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 21.08 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,424.98.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 33.71 points, or 0.30 percent, to 11,143.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 3.98 points, or 0.34 percent, to 1,158.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 21.08 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,424.98.

Hopes that Bernanke would announce a new stimulus for the U.S. economy at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, conference fueled a 3 percent rally on Tuesday.

Bernanke, however, is most likely to outline gradualist measures, which would disappoint investors looking for a big bang approach, such as a fresh round of bond buying.

Bank of America Corp rose 8.5 percent to $6.83, reversing losses on Tuesday, when the Dow component hit a 2-1/2-year low on fears it may have to raise large amounts of capital. BofA shares remain down more than 30 percent so far this month.

Exchange-traded funds tracking gold stocks and gold-mining stocks fell after bullion futures dropped more than 4 percent. The SPDR Gold Trust Index declined 2.2 percent, while the Market Vectors Gold Miners Index fell 3.4 percent.

The government reported that new orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods surged in July, rising double the amount economists had forecast.

Banks rebounded from recent losses. The S&P financials index advanced 1.1 percent, with JPMorgan Chase & Co shares up 1.4 percent at $35.28.

(Reporting by Ashley Lau; Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Ben Bernanke