After a one day rally, Obama Addressed the Nation last night. The Market is tanking again

Menderman

Updated 11:15 AM EST, Wed, Feb 25, 2009


Investors are selling stocks again as worries about the banking and housing industries pile up.

Bank stocks fell amid continued uneasiness about the steps the government will take to help struggling financial companies. The Obama administration is planning to begin "stress tests" on the nation's biggest banks Wednesday to determine how they would fare if the recession deepened.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 158.42, or 2.16 percent, to 7,192.52.

Banking regulators plan to examine the financial well-being of Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and more than a dozen other institutions that have received money from the government's $700 billion bailout fund. The checkups are designed to help determine whether banks have enough capital to endure any further bumps in the economy during the next two years.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 5.3 percent to an annual rate of 4.49 million last month, from 4.74 million units in December. It was the worst showing since July 1997, and Wall Street had expected sales would rise.

Investors are also watching Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's second day of testimony before Congress. His remarks to the House Financial Services Committee will be identical to what he delivered to the Senate on Tuesday but the questions he faces will differ.

The market extended the back-and-forth trading that has jolted investors this week. Stocks had rebounded Tuesday from a sell-off Monday.