Bank shares led the Dow and the S&P 500 lower on Thursday, reflecting investors' fears of how a nation-wide probe into the mortgage industry's foreclosure practices might affect earnings.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and Bank of America ranked as the two heaviest weights on the Dow, while Bank of America alone was the S&P 500's fifth-biggest percentage decliner. An S&P index of financial services shares slid 2.3 percent.
But the US dollar's slide limited stocks' losses. The KBW bank index tumbled 3.6 percent on increasing worries that a joint investigation into home foreclosure procedures by attorneys general from all 50 US states would cause uncertainty and threaten the recovery of the fragile housing market.
Every component of the KBW bank index was in negative territory. Bank of America Corp lost 5.8 percent to $12.52. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co slid 3.1 percent to $38.62. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 36.32 points, or 0.33 percent, to 11,059.76. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 6.89 points, or 0.58 percent, at 1,171.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 10.06 points, or 0.41 percent, at 2,431.17.
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