Gains Fizzle; Dow Down 7

Stocks swung back to losses as optimism from last week’s rally faded today, the Wall Street Journal reports. Investors treated last week’s announcements that many troubled financial institutions ran operating profits in the first two months of 2009—ignoring “toxic securities” on their balance sheets—with skepticism. The Dow closed down 7.01 at 7,216.97. The Nasdaq fell 27.48 to 1,404.02, and the S&P 500 lost 2.66, closing at 753.89. (More Dow Jones stories.)