Wall Street

July 15, 2008 09:56 am

— By MADLEN READ
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were knocked lower again Tuesday as investors grappled with escalating instability in the financial sector. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 100 points.
Wall Street is awaiting testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who will speak before the Senate Banking Committee to offer his midyear report on the economy. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is set to appear as well. President Bush, meanwhile, is expected to hold a news conference to discuss steps to help stabilize the housing and financial markets.
The market's ever-increasing anxiety about the financial sector had investors discounting a relatively tame report on wholesale inflation, and sending the dollar to a new low against the euro.
U.S. officials' comments will come only days after the Fed and the Treasury said they would lend financial support to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if necessary. The well-being of the government-chartered companies has drawn Wall Street's attention in recent weeks as the companies together hold or guarantee more than $5 trillion in mortgages — nearly half the nation's total.
Investors are also nervous after a run on IndyMac Bancorp Inc. led to the California lender's takeover by the government Friday. IndyMac became the largest regulated thrift to fail.
In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 109.59, or 0.99 percent, to 10,945.60.
Broader stock indicators also sank. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 12.65, or 1.03 percent, to 1,215.65, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 17.47, or 0.79 percent, to 2,195.40.

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