Thursday

Well, the Dow broke its 7-day winning streak today. However, the S&P 500 managed to cross into the green before the closing bell. Financials recovered ground, encouraged by a potential settlement between Goldman Sachs and the SEC and the passage of a sweeping financial overhaul bill. Earlier, concerns over the impact of this financial overhaul on bank profits helped fuel a decline in U.S. stocks, though investors had been reducing those losses as the Senate went to a vote on the bill. In other markets, the euro surged, hitting a two-month high against the U.S. dollar. DJIA -7.41 Nasdaq -.76 S&P 500 +1.31.