NEW YORK - WALL Street swung lower on Tuesday as investors retreated from a sizzling stock rally a day earlier fueled by a new US government plan to clean up toxic assets in the banking system.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 115.33 points (1.48 per cent) at 7,660.53, as selling pressures intensified late in the day following Monday's surge of 6.84 per cent.

WASHINGTON - US Treasury and Federal Reserve chiefs asked Congress on Tuesday for unprecedented powers to seize financial companies outside the banking system in a bid to maintain economic stability.

The government currently has the authority to take over only banks, and the new requested powers could enable authorities to rein in large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds during a financial turmoil.

WASHINGTON - A GOVERNMENT report says US home prices fell 6.3 per cent in January from the same month last year.