Washington  - Stocks fell on Wall Street Friday led by financial shares even as the US Congress pushed through a 787- billion-dollar economic stimulus plan.

US President Barack Obama's economic recovery package designed to help pull the United States out of recession passed the House of Representatives by a vote of
246-183 Friday afternoon. The Senate was expected to pass the measure Friday evening after markets had closed.

The drop in financial shares was led by the bank Wells Fargo, which lost 6.2 per cent, as it said losses in the fourth quarter were larger than an earlier figure. It lost 2.73 billion dollars in the period, more than the 2.55 billion dollars it had reported last month.

Shares of snack food and soft drink maker PepsiCo gained 1.1 per cent to 52.57 dollars per share. The Purchase, New York-based company said Friday it earned 719 million dollars in the final quarter of 2008, down 43 per cent from the year earlier period. Revenue rose 3 per cent to 12.7 billion dollars.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 82.35 points, or 1 per cent, to 7,850.41. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 8.35 points, or 1 per cent, to 826.84. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slid 7.35 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 1,534.36.

The US dollar slipped against the euro to 77.75 euro cents from 77.69 euro cents on Thursday, but rose against the Japanese currency to 91.93 yen from 90.82. (dpa)