US stocks were lower today as a $700 billion financial sector rescue ran into opposition in Washington.
But with investors still holding out hope that some sort of deal would be struck on the weekend, the Dow industrials erased earlier losses to trade little changed.
Technology shares struggled after BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, a bellwether for the sector, warned that quarterly profit will fall short of Wall Street's forecasts. RIM shares shed more than 25 per cent.
Wachovia Corp, one of the largest US banks, was among financial shares taking a hard fall, sinking nearly 30 percent to $9.62.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 17.92 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 11,004.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 9.66 points, or 0.80 per cent, at 1,199.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 23.00 points, or 1.05 pe rcent, at 2,163.57.
The main focus, though. was the fate of a financial rescue plan that has run into stiff resistance on Capitol Hill, mostly from Republicans. The Treasury wants authority to buy up assets that banks are struggling to value, but it has been a tough sell, with many voters seeing it as a taxpayer-funded bailout of wealthy Wall Street.
Stocks pared losses, however, after President George W. Bush said Congress would eventually adopt a bailout.