NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street skidded lower in another erratic session Tuesday as investors grappled with the possibility of further trouble for the housing market and mortgage lenders like Countrywide Financial Corp. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 180 points.

Investors tried to take the market higher, but succumbed to another stream of bad news.

In the morning, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its index tracking pending U.S. home sales fell 2.6 percent in November, a larger decline than the market expected. Jitters about Countrywide and KB Home, which posted a disappointing fourth quarter loss, kept Wall Street on edge throughout the day, and comments by President Bush in reiterating the problems facing the economy likely added to the market's uneasiness.

Many traders have been betting recently that the lender might need to file for bankruptcy. Countrywide denied that rumor Tuesday, and its stock partially recovered from a plunge. Still, it remained sharply lower on the day; Lehman Brothers said in a note that Countrywide's earnings power has declined severely, and The New York Times reported the company fabricated documents related to the bankruptcy case of a Pennsylvania homeowner.

'Basically you've got the market with one eye on earnings and one eye on the economy,' said Ryan Larson, senior equity trader with Voyageur Asset Management. He said investors are nervous by a continued flow about bad news around companies such as Countrywide.

'The picture doesn't look good right now and the fear is that what we saw through the economic data points last week will be carried through to corporate earnings,' he said.

In late afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 179.98, or 1.40 percent, to 12,647.51 after ratcheted up and down, as it did in Monday's session.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 18.63, or 1.32 percent, to 1,397.55, and the Nasdaq composite index declined 39.01, or 1.56 percent, to 2,460.45.

All three indexes are down substantially so far this year.

Bond prices showed little movement. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, stood at 3.84 percent, flat with late Monday.

The dollar fell against most rival currencies, except the yen.



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