US stocks fall as Fed plan fails to spur market

US stocks fell today as a Federal Reserve's plan to rekindle consumer and small business lending fell short of expectations and…

US stocks fell today as a Federal Reserve's plan to rekindle consumer and small business lending fell short of expectations and General Electric was hit by bearish analyst comments.

The KBW banks index fell 5 per cent, while the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 122.90 points, or 1.66 per cent, to end unofficially at 7,277.98.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 15.50 points, or 1.98 per cent, to 768.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 26.21 points, or 1.77 per cent, to 1,457.27.

But for the week, the Dow unofficially gained 0.7 per cent, while the S& P 500 added 1.5 per cent and the Nasdaq climbed 1.8 per cent.