Stocks finished just barely in positive territory today, MarketWatch reports. Nervousness about US banks’ continued need for government funds dropped the Dow below 8,000, but bargain-hunters pushed the index higher, and it closed at 8,212.49, up 12.35 points on the day. The Nasdaq rose 22.20, settling at 1,511.84, and the S&P 500 added 1.12, closing at 843.74.
Bank of America lost 18.4% after asking the government for more money in order to absorb Merrill Lynch. Along with BoA, Citigroup paced declines, losing 15.45% in the wake of a rushed deal to sell its Smith Barney brokerage to raise capital. JP Morgan Chase posted a quarterly profit, but it was down 76% from a year ago, and the firm’s stock fell 6.06%. (More Dow Jones stories.)