MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stocks Struggle For Footing; Obama Housing Details Awaited

By Kate Gibson

The stock market's tentative Wednesday moves -- first rising, then falling -- came as investors clamored for additional details on the Obama administration's plan to help struggling home owners.

In unveiling his strategy Wednesday afternoon in Phoenix, President Obama should offer "more details, rather than less, to avoid the fallout after [Treasury Secretary Tim] Geithner's non-plan plan," said Dan Greenhaus, an analyst with the equity strategy group at Miller Tabak & Co.

"It's important to announce specific dates and specific monetary quantities to give the market a firm handle on how much he intends to do and when he intends to do it," Greenhaus said.

Earlier Wednesday, the administration laid forth a $75 billion program for "at risk" homeowners aimed at slowing foreclosures.

Last week, Geithner's strategy for straightening out the U.S. banking industry got widely panned by investors, who found it lacking in many important details.

After slipping to three-month lows during Tuesday's session, equities wavered between modest gains and losses in recent action, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) down 21.26 points at 7,531.34.

Consumer discretionary shares paced the declines, led by home builders including KB Home (KBH) and Lennar Corp. (LEN), both down more than 6%.

The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 3.02 points to 786.15, and the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) declined 2.67 points to 1,467.99.

Financials also weighed, with CIT Group Inc. (CIT) among the bigger laggards, its shares off 6.5%.

"The market remains in the dark with regards to the government's plan to help the banking sector. We're about to get specifics on housing, but the bank sector is the forgotten stepchild," said Greenhaus.