US STOCKS-Wall St slides as banks eclipse housing optimism

                                
 * Worry over banks outweighs mortgage plan enthusiasm
                                
 * Retailers sink on consumer sentiment
                                
 * Dow marks lowest close since Nov 20 bear market close
                                
 * Dow, S&P off 1 pct; Nasdaq down 0.5 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
 (Adds context to Dow)
                                
 By Chuck Mikolajczak
                                
 NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on  Friday as
persistent worries about banks eclipsed news the government
would announce a plan next week to prop up the housing sector
by helping homeowners avoid foreclosures.
                                
 Initial enthusiasm over the prospect of relief on the
housing front proved to be short-lived after the White House
cautioned against unreasonable expectations and doubts lingered
about how banks will cleanse their books of toxic assets.
                                
 The Dow on Friday had its lowest close since the bear
market closing low of Nov. 20, capping a week when financial
stocks were repeatedly pummeled as the government's latest bank
rescue plan failed to allay investor worries.
                                
 Shares of JPMorgan <JPM.N> shed 3.3 percent to $25.30 on
Friday, making the stock one of the top drags on the Dow. The
KBW Bank index <.BKX> fell 5.3 percent and ended down 14
percent for the week.
                                
 "The banks are still a concern, plus we have a long weekend
coming up," said Peter Jankovskis, director of research at
OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois. "There are people
that may be deciding they want to be out of the market for a
few days.
                                
 The market will be closed on Monday for the Presidents Day
holiday.
                                
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 82.35 points,
or 1.04 percent, to 7,850.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> dropped 8.35 points, or 1.00 percent, to 826.84. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shed 7.35 points, or 0.48
percent, to 1,534.36.
                                
 Only three of the Dow's 30 components finished higher.
                                
 The close for the Dow marked its worst showing since the
Nov. 20 bear-market closing low and the index is now off 10.6
percent year-to-date after sliding 5.2 percent for the week.
                                
 For the week, the S&P 500 was down 4.8 percent for its
worst weekly showing since the bear market low of late
November.
                                
 Britain's Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> stoked banking
sector concerns after it said its HBOS unit had a pretax loss
of 8.5 billion pounds ($12.3 billion) for 2008, driven by 7
billion pounds loans, raising fears that the already partly
nationalized bank will need further state help. For details see
[ID:nLD820935]
                                
 Some big manufacturers, however, moved higher, on
expectations they will benefit from the $787 billion economic
stimulus plan that the U.S. Congress is expected to approve
later on Friday.
                                
 Planemaker Boeing <BA.N> climbed 1.6 percent to $40.48,
while United Technologies <UTX.N>, the world's largest
manufacturer of elevators and air conditioners, added 0.4
percent to $47.09.
                                
 Consumer stocks dropped on skepticism whether consumers
will rush to spend the tax cuts that are part of the $787
billion stimulus package; the U.S. House of Representatives
approved the package on Friday afternoon and the Senate was due
to vote on the bill starting at 5:30 p.m. (2230 GMT).
                                
 U.S. consumer confidence in February fell to its lowest
level in three months as sentiment grew increasingly gloomy
over an economic downturn that most expected to last more than
five years, a survey showed on Friday. [ID:nN13275765]
                                
 Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> shares fell 3.3 percent to
$46.53, making it the top drag in the Dow. Home Depot <HD.N>
dropped 3.5 percent to $21.22. The S&P Retail index <.RLX> slid
2.1 percent.
                                
 The Nasdaq was weighed down by a 3.8 percent decline in
Research in Motion <RIM.TO><RIMM.O> after Credit Suisse cut its
rating on the stock to "underperform" from "neutral" as it
forecast lower average selling prices for the BlackBerry.
[ID:nBNG401055]
                                
 The index fell 3.6 percent for the week.
                                
 Volume was light on the New York Stock Exchange, where
about 1.24 billion shares changed hands, below last year's
estimated daily average volume of 1.49 billion shares. On the
Nasdaq, about 2 billion shares traded, also below last year's
daily average of 2.28 billion.
                                
 Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a ratio of
about 3 to 2, while on the Nasdaq, the ratio was about five to
four.
 (Editing by Leslie Adler)