Higher oil prices managed to wipe out any early gains on the New York equities markets on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.8 percent to 10,434.87, the Nasdaq composite ended up 0.4 percent lower at 2,128.91, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.7 percent on the day to close at 1,209.59.

The early gains had been in response to data showing record new-home sales in the US in July, and some home builders managed to hang on to their gains at the end of the session.

Beazer Homes was up 2.6 percent to $60.98, Pulte Homes added 1.6 percent to $84.84, and Centex rose by 0.9 percent to $66.13.

The restaurant industry saw losses on the day as worries continued that high gasoline prices are cutting into consumer spending.

Restaurant chain Applebee’s International lost 7 percent to $22.37 after it cut its 2005 earnings forecast and blamed it on high oil prices. Outback Steakhouse also was down on the day, falling 2 percent to $42.92, while Brinker International dropped 3 percent to $42.49.

Meanwhile, Google gained 1.1 percent to $282.57 when it announced its first venture into the internet telephone market.