New York ? Rising concern about violence in the Middle East gave investors another reason to sell Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down 135 points despite another batch of solid earnings reports.

With the growing possibility of higher interest rates, an ongoing concern on Wall Street, analysts said investors already inclined to pull money out of the market were further unnerved by developments in the Middle East.

“I think the quagmire of geopolitical news is basically what’s keeping the market from responding to the good economic news and good earnings reports,” said Peter Cardillo, chief strategist at S.W. Bach & Co.

The Dow plunged 135.56, or 1.3 percent, to 10,342.60. Broader stock indicators also dropped sharply.

The overseas news had a greater impact Wednesday since there was no fresh economic news to help investors assess the speed of the economic recovery.

Many investors held firm or sold off ahead of three key reports to be released during the next week. The first-quarter gross domestic product report was due out today, the Federal Reserve was set to meet Tuesday to discuss rates, and the April employment data was expected May 7.

“If the data shows that the economy is heating up too quickly, that’ll prompt the Fed to raise rates more quickly and more forcefully than investors would like,” said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at Spencer Clarke LLC. “So right now, when things are as good as they can be, and earnings are strong as they are now, that’s the time you want to be cautious and take a contrarian viewpoint.”

With Wednesday’s loss, the major indexes erased the gains made during the past four sessions.

Pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 76 cents to $25.48 as it reported earnings that beat expectations by 2 cents.

McDonald’s Corp.’s comeback, launched by its late chief executive, Jim Cantalupo, continued to fuel earnings at the fast-food giant. McDonald’s posted a 56 percent increase in earnings from a year ago, meeting Wall Street expectations. McDonald’s gained 41 cents to $27.61.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Escalating violence in the Middle East caused investors to sell stocks sharply lower Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down 135.56 points despite solid earnings from Bristol-Myers Squibb and McDonald's Corp.