TREASURY’S PLAN TOXIC FOR MARTS

Citigroup and Bank of America retreated after the shares jumped more than 19 percent Monday on the Treasury’s plan to purge toxic assets from banks.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 115.89 points, or 1.5 percent, to 7,659.97. Nasdaq fell 39.25 to close at 1,516.52, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 2 percent to close at 806.25 a day after its fourth-biggest rally since the 1930s. “When you’re buying equities, you’re buying a stream of earnings and current earnings are in freefall,” said Douglas Cliggott, the Greenwich, Conn.-based manager of the $81 million Dover Long/Short Sector Fund, which beat 97 percent of its peers last year. “We haven’t hit bottom yet.”

The S&P 500 jumped 7.1 percent Monday, extending its rebound from a 12-year low on March 9 to 22 percent, on speculation the US plan to finance purchases of toxic assets will spur growth.

But in yesterday’s session, Citigroup lost 3.8 percent to $3.01. Wells Fargo declined 11 percent to $15.50.