Wednesday

Stocks faltered today, hurt by weakness in the health-care sector, which was fueled by unpromising test results for a new Alzheimer's drug and a new call by the president to pass federal health-care legislation. The market rose through most of the session, aided by favorable readings of jobs, service-sector activity, and the Federal Reserve's beige book of regional indicators. But, the gains dried up later in the session. In other markets, the euro strengthened versus the dollar following Greece's announcement of an austerity plan meant to address its debt crisis. DJIA -9.22 Nasdaq +.11 S&P 500 +.48.