Stocks Finish Mostly Lower; Financials Weak

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks atrophied by Monday's closing bell, though strong earnings from Caterpillar(CAT) helped keep the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly above the flat line, as concerns about tightened bank regulations yanked on the financial sector.

The Dow finished nearly 1 point higher, or 0.01%, to 11,205. The S&P 500 lost 5 points, or 0.4%, at 1212, and the Nasdaq dwindled 7 points, or 0.3%, to 2523.

The financial sector was the session's weakest as investors anticipated a Senate procedural vote scheduled for later Monday. The vote is required to begin debate on the financial reform bill that aims to limit the size and risky activities of banks, in addition to increasing consumer protections. The KBW Bank index was off by 3.1% today. Travelers(TRV), JPMorgan Chase(JPM), Bank of America(BAC) and American Express(AXP) turned in the worst performances on the Dow.

Investors also remained concerned about Greece's ability to access rescue funds soon enough to avoid default because its aid request must be ratified by the eurozone. Markets seemed concerned that Germany, which will take on the bulk of the financial burden, could be slow to free up funds to Greece even though Germany's finance minister signaled aid will be made quickly available to the ailing country.

>>Forget Greece (Forbes)

Overseas, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.6% on Monday while Japan's Nikkei rose 2.3%. The FTSE in London gained 0.5% and the DAX in Frankfurt added 1.2%.

Earlier, the U.S. Treasury Department said it will begin selling its Citigroup(C) stake under a pre-arranged trading plan with Morgan Stanley(MS) for up to 1.5 billion Citi shares. Citigroup's stock shed 25 cents, or 5.1%, to $4.61.

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