Stocks Close Near Lows, Weighted by Financials

Chip-sector stocks broadly experienced a less steep decline than most, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index went 0.4% lower.

But that wasn't enough to outweigh declines, led chiefly by weakness in the big-cap financial sector. Bank of America(BAC) topped the Dow's worst performers, sliding 3.5%. Travelers(TRV), American Express(AXP) and JPMorgan Chase(JPM) also lost ground on the blue-chip average.

Hasbro(HAS) was one of the New York Stock Exchange's highest performers after it easily beat estimates with earnings that rose 77%. Shares traded 12.7% higher, to $34.71.

Shares of Citigroup(C), Bank of America and Ford Motor(F) were again seeing heavy trading on the NYSE, which had a listed volume of nearly 4.1 billion.

CVS(CVS) reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates. Its stock gained 5.3%, to $32.72.

Shares of CIT Group(CIT) gave up gains, sinking 0.5%. The commercial lender earlier named former Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain as its new chairman and CEO.

After the close of trading, Electronic Arts(ERTS) said its third-quarter earnings came two cents ahead of Street expectations of 31 cents a share. Still, shares fell in extended trading on a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter outlook.

The greenback fell against a basket of currencies, with the dollar index lower by 0.1%.

In commodity markets, crude oil for March delivery settled at $71.89 a barrel after adding 70 cents. The most actively traded April gold contract added $13.40 to settle at $1,066.20 an ounce.

Overseas, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was lower by 0.6%, and Japan's Nikkei was down by 1.1%. The FTSE in London was 0.6% higher, and the DAX in Frankfurt was up 0.9%.

-- Written by Melinda Peer and Sung Moss in New York.

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