Bad news for autos, banks weighs on stocks, pushing Dow way down

From Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's statement that more bank bailouts may be needed in the future to Rick Wagoner's unceremonious departure from the helm of General Motors (GM), today's news seemed too heavy for the markets to bear. Financial stocks and GM led the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 254 points, or 3.3 percent, to close at 7,522.

Among the 30 Dow components, only IBM (IBM) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) rose, though just barely. In addition to the banks and automakers, aluminum giant Alcoa (AA) also saw its shares plunge.