YAHOO[BRIEFING.COM]: The broader market turned in a modest gain, thanks to a late rally effort that overcame steep losses.

Initial gains were broad-based as participants began buying in the wake of the February jobs report, which indicated nonfarm payrolls fell 651,000, in-line with expectations, and unemployment climbed more than expected to a 25-year high of 8.1%. Stocks were up as much as 2.4% in what resembled past trends that saw stocks sell off leading up to the monthly jobs report, but then rally in its wake as traders "bought the bad news."

The advance crumbled, though, as sellers re-entered the fold to push financial stocks into the red. Financials were up 4.0% before falling to a 5.3% loss.

Wells Fargo (WFC 8.66, +0.54) was one of the few financial players to log a gain. The company announced it will cut its quarterly dividend to $0.05 per share from $0.34 per share in order to preserve capital and repay government funds as quickly as possible.

Financials closed with a 1.4% lower.

Weakness in financials undercut the broader market, taking the S&P 500 and the Dow past prior session lows to their worst intraday levels since 1996. The S&P 500 was down as much as 2.3%, while the Dow was down as much as 1.9%.

The Nasdaq fell to its lowest level in six years as large-cap tech stocks buckled. Large-cap tech had actually provided support to the Nasdaq in recent sessions, but the market's downward trend proved too much. The Nasdaq traded with a loss of 2.4% at its session low.

Marvell Tech (MRVL 8.06, +0.54) was one standout in the Nasdaq, though. The company posted better-than-expected earnings and issued upside guidance.

A late rally effort helped stocks finish off their lows. The effort stalled a bit as sellers redoubled their efforts, but the broader market was able to overcome.

Though the Nasdaq finished lower for the 13th time in 15 sessions, the Dow and S&P 500 were each able to close modestly higher. The Dow has finished four of the last 15 sessions higher. The S&P 500 has finished three of the last 15 sessions higher.

The broader market is now down 57% from its 2007 high. At its high, the S&P 500 traded at a price-to-trailing earnings ratio of 17.4. The stock market currently trades at 10.2x trailing earnings.DJ30 +32.50 NASDAQ -5.74 NQ100 -0.9% R2K +0.5% SP400 -0.7% SP500 +0.83 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1318/2.15 bln/1377 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1138/1.77 bln/1923