Stocks Ease Off the Lows of the Day

Updated from 1:17 p.m. EST

Stocks on Wall Street were shaking off their worst lows of the day Thursday afternoon after the president elect delivered an urgent call to action with a his economic recovery plan for the nation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 70 points at 8699, and the S&P 500 was off 2 points at 904. The Nasdaq was gaining 8 points at 1607.

The morning got off to a bleak start on Wall Street as retail numbers began to roll in much lower than expected. Retail, bank and U.S. automaker stocks posted the biggest declines on the Dow.

"It is time to set a new course for this economy, and that change must begin now," said President-elect Barack Obama, pitching his economic stimulus plan. "Our goal is not to create a slew of new government programs, but a foundation for long term economic growth," he said.

The president elect said the so-called American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will provide, among other things, a $1,000 tax cut to 95% of working families, and the creation of jobs, particularly in clean energy and the private sector. Indeed, the scale of the $775 billion plan is unprecedented, but so is the severity of the situation, said Obama, who noted that it's altogether likely that things will get worse before they get better.

"Every day we wait, or point fingers, or drag our feet ... we will sink deeper into a crisis that at some point we may not be able to reverse," said Obama.

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