Housing Plan Does Nothing for Stocks

Updated from 4:07 p.m. EST

Stocks in New York were relatively unchanged Wednesday, as investors took in Obama Administration's $275 billion plan to help housing, the FOMC minutes and latest from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke -- plus the most recent financial swindle.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 3.03 points, or 0.04%, to 7555.63, while the S&P 500 edged down 0.75, or 0.1%, to 788.42. The Nasdaq was lowered by 2.69 points, or 0.2%, to 1467.97.

Bank of America (BAC Quote) and General Motors (GM Quote) were the worst performers on the Dow, losing 6.7% and 5.5%, respectively. Wal-Mart(WMT Quote), on the other hand, stood out with a 3.7% gain.

"As Greenspan pointed out last night, the country is consumed with fear -- fear of the unknown and worries that the current economic downturn will continue into the foreseeable future," says Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM, referring to comments by Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in a Tuesday evening speech to the Economics Club of New York.

"In terms of today, we've been up and down, with investors unsure whether we're likely to retest the bottom, while we also saw some tentative buying," said Sheldon.

This week's decline toyed with the Dow's November lows in the face of President Barack Obama signing the historic $787 billion stimulus package into law. "This is the beginning of the end," said the president, calling the package "a balanced plan with a mix of tax cuts and investments."

On Wednesday, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech for the National Press Club that the minutes from the most recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee would be one of the first steps in enhanced communication, including projections on unemployment and inflation beyond the normal three-year forecast.