Financials Nudge Markets Down

The markets saw modest losses today, erasing an early-session rally spurred by the announcement of a government bailout plan for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as investors mulled the ramifications of a government rescue, MarketWatch reports. The Dow fell 45.35 points, closing at 11,055.19. The Nasdaq shed 26.21, closing at 2,212.87, and the S&P 500 lost 11.19, to close at 1,228.30.

Traders worry that the government is only able to rescue a small percentage of Fannie/Freddie’s debt—the combined $5.2 trillion in mortgages is almost double the entire federal budget for 2008. "Reality is setting in," one analyst said. "The news over the weekend regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was good—but also bad in that it's confirming what the market feared all along." (More Dow Jones stories.)