Some stocks, including Dow components, managed to hold on to gains for much of the session. But analysts said that after weeks of selling, there are few incentives to do much buying. With confidence continually eroding due to corporate ethics scandals, most investors are unwilling to make many bets.

The Dow ended the session down 82.24 at 7,702,34, according to preliminary calculations, giving it a four-day loss of 840.14.

The Nasdaq composite index, heavily populated by high-tech stocks, dropped 53.67 to 1,228.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, one of the broadest market measures, but one with a sizeable tech representation, fell 21.24 to 798.61; it was the S&P's first close below 800 since April 1997.

In percentage terms, the Nasdaq had the worst performance, falling 4.2 percent compared to the Dow's 1.1 percent and the S&P's 2.6 percent.

"We're searching for a bottom here," said Will Braman, chief investment officer, John Hancock Funds. "But sentiment is still bad, about as bad as it gets."

Indeed, it was no surprise that the market had difficulty holding on to gains after its protracted selloff. Stocks that have fallen for more than nine weeks have quickly relinquished even the smallest of advances.

Financial stocks slid for a second straight session as a Senate subcommittee investing the Enron collapse prepared to hear testimony from J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup officials. Also today, The New York Times reported Citigroup might have completed transactions for Enron in a way that helped Enron conceal its true financial condition. Both institutions have denied any wrongdoing in their handling of Enron business.

Citigroup tumbled $5.04 to $27, while J.P. Morgan lost $4.44 to $20.08.

And Tyco was off $1.20 at $10.65 after reporting quarterly results in line with expectations, but saying it might miss the mid-August deadline set by the SEC for executives to sign off on financial results. The company said it first wants to complete an investigation of the dealings of its former chairman L. Dennis Kozlowski, and does plan to eventually comply.

The already battered telecommunications sector retreated further on discouraging results from two of its most high-proflle companies. AT&T fell 72 cents to $8.80 on a $12.7 billion second-quarter loss due in part to a drop in the value of its cable TV business.

Lucent lost 45 cents to $1.65 after reporting a quarterly decline of $7.9 billion and another 7,000 job cuts.

Tech stocks were mixed. Texas Instruments gained 9 cents to $23.48 after reporting second-quarter results in line with expectations, and releasing a current quarter forecast that also conforms to analyst estimates.