Stocks slide as Obama calls for tougher bank rules

NEW YORK Obama is seeking to limit the size and complexity of large financial companies so that a bank's collapse wouldn't endanger the overall financial system. Traders think the tighter rules could hurt profits.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 213 at 10,603, its steepest drop since Oct. 30. The Dow fell 122 on Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 22 at 1,116. The Nasdaq composite index is down 26 at 2,266.

Four stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume rose to 1.5 billion shares compared with 1.1 billion Wednesday.