Wall Street loses ground on GE, materials

General Electric , down more than 4 percent at $25, was a top drag on both the Dow and the S&P 500, after an analyst at Goldman Sachs cut the profit outlook on the diversified manufacturer.

A drop in global commodity prices hurt shares of natural resource companies, including aluminum producer Alcoa , down nearly 4 percent at $25.82.

Technology bellwethers such as Microsoft Corp , had led the market on hopes that a proposed $700 billion financial sector bailout will loosen up lending and boost capital spending.

Even so, uncertainty about the mechanics of the bailout lingered as Congressional debate over the measure to mop up bad mortgage debt from bank balance sheets intensified in Washington.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> shed 20.63 points, or 0.19 percent, to 10,995.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> declined 4.14 points, or 0.34 percent, to 1,202.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 3.05 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,175.96.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged Congress to approve the government's rescue package lest frozen credit markets further damage an already struggling economy.

After the open, indexes had risen more than 1 percent.

(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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