SEC: Need more time to figure out cause of stock plunge

WASHINGTON - The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission told a congressional panel Tuesday that regulators need more time to figure out what caused last week's stock market plunge.

SEC chairwoman Mary Schapiro said her agency has yet to pinpoint the exact reason for the sell-off that sent the Dow Jones industrial average falling nearly 1,000 points in less than half an hour.

"We will move as quickly as we can, but I can't give you a final date," Schapiro said at a hearing examining the historic market drop.

Some causes have been ruled out, she said. The agency's review found no evidence of terrorist activity or computer hacking. There also was no evidence "that this was done in any kind of a malicious way," Schapiro said.

Schapiro said establishing a stronger system for slowing trading during periods of high volatility would help.

Lawmakers and Schapiro acknowledge the plunge has undermined confidence in the financial markets.

"We must quickly analyze what happened and embrace reforms in order to restore market integrity and promote investor confidence," said Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee that oversees market regulation.

Meanwhile, the stock market showed signs of stability Tuesday as major indexes held on to most of their rebound from last week's big drop.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 36.88, or 0.3 percent, to 10,748.26 after fluctuating for much of the day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.94, or 0.3 percent, to 1,155.79, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.64, or less than 0.3 percent, to 2,375.31.