Stocks fall as financials offset earlier gains by retailers

Financial and basic materials stocks closed lower on Tuesday, sending the S&P 500 Index, Nasdaq Composite Index, and Dow Jones Industrial Average into negative territory after posting gains earlier in the day.

The S&P 500 fell 0.42 percent; the Dow dropped 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq fell 0.32 percent.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the first estimate of the potential cost of the “Volcker Plan” was released by analysts. The report estimated banks may have to spin off divisions worth billions of dollars. The estimated figure for Goldman Sachs is $21.7 billion and for Morgan Stanley, it is $12.4 billion.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is down 2.56 percent and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) down 1.66 percent; Financial stocks in general were among the biggest decliners in the market.

President Barack Obama also outlined today his plans for a three-year spending freeze on non-security programs. The program intends to save $250 billion over 10 years.

Meanwhile, the basic materials sector is down 1.04 percent, according to the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Index. The sector was also weighed down by U.S. Steel, which is down nearly 12 percent after missing Wall Street expectations for its earnings.

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) and other retailers were still up on the better than expected consumer confidence figure from the morning. Wal-Mart is trading up 1.44 percent.