The dollar had its strongest day in quite some time Tuesday as Ben Bernanke's comments regarding interest rates encouraged buying in the dollar. Bernanke specifically said that he and the Federal Reserve were watching the currency markets closely. He also said that he believes interest rates are now at a good place and hinted that further rate cuts are highly unlikely. While all of this was good news for the greenback, stocks lost their morning gains and finished lower across the board again today. The Dow finished the day lower by 101 points. The Nasdaq closed down by 11 points. The broader S&P 500 lost 8 points, or 0.58%.
The beaten down financials were knocked down once again today as more 
speculation of writedowns and the need for more capital spooked investors. National City Corporation (NYSE:NCC) fell 5.93% and KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) fell 2.5% as the regional ranks stood out as major losers in today's session. MBIA (NYSE:MBI) tumbled another 3.88% to a new 52 week low. E Trade Financial (Nasdaq:ETFC) fell another 2.02% in today's trading. SLM Corporation (NYSE:SLM), formerly Sallie Mae, fell by 2.11% today.
Energy stocks were also weak today as crude oil fell back below $125 a barrel. Overseas energy giant PetroChina (NYSE:PTR) saw its value cut by 2.72%, while Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) shares fell 4.6% on the day. Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) shares fell 2.71% on the day. Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE:DO) shares fell 3.34% on higher than average volume. National Oilwell-Varco (NYSE:NOV) lost 2.47% in today's session.
Notable 52 week lows
- Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq:JAVA) Fell 4.1% on heavy volume today, and shares have now fallen 41% in the last 6 months.
- CME Group (NYSE:CME) A $1 billion settlement knocked CME shares to their 52 week low.
- Pepsi Bottling Group (NYSE:PBG) Shares lost 1.09% and hit a new 52 week low.
- Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) This savings and loan bank hit another new low today after falling 2.78%. It's shares have lost over 80% in the past year.
The financials are beginning to look more and more like they did a few months ago when there was a constant speculation about which company would be next to announce major writedowns and which company might be next to go bankrupt. For a while there seemed to be a little more optimism, but it seems the mood has turned more negative once again.
Volume was a little higher today than it has been in recent sessions, suggesting a little more panic hit the markets this afternoon. Investors around the street are already starting to talk about the huge economic report out on Friday, the jobs report. The jobs report has the potential to quell fears to a large degree or reignite the severe recession fears. The volatility is sure to increase come the end of the week as investors digest this critical data.
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