Wall Street Gives up Some Ground After Huge Gains

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 115 points, or 1.5 percent Tuesday. But it also held on to 382 of the 498 points it racked up a day earlier.

Later this week, some big economic reports are scheduled to come out: durable goods for February, a revised fourth-quarter gross domestic product number, and personal income and spending for February. And next month, first-quarter earnings reports start pouring in.

Thomas J. Lee, a stock market analyst at JPMorgan, said the market's ability to hang on to most of its rally was encouraging. But, he added, "This has definitely been a show-me market."

The Dow fell 115.89, or 1.5 percent, to 7,659.97. The index fell in early trading, rose briefly in afternoon trading, and then turned lower again.

Broader stock indicators also tumbled. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 16.57, or 2 percent, to 806.35, and the Nasdaq fell 39.25, or 2.5 percent, to 1,516.52.

Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York, said many traders are pleased by the government's plan to help banks but said that signs of an improving economy will be needed for the market to hold its gains. He said nagging worries about big problems like unemployment could shake investors.

"We are treating this cautiously as we recognize that there are still some storm clouds on the horizon," Orlando said.