(Updates to show stocks cutting losses)
NEW YORK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks cut losses in afternoon trading on Tuesday, after BlackRock President Robert Kapito said a $30 billion Bear Stearns mortgage portfolio could end up being worth more than its market value implies and U.S. housing agencies said they would widen help for homeowners.
Kapito was speaking at the Reuters Global Finance Summit in New York. The S&P financial index <.GSPF> slashed losses to be little changed after his comments.
" All those financials have toxic assets market at fairly draconian prices and if cash flows were better from the Bear portfolio, that is a positive for the market," said Bobby Harrington, head of block trading at UBS in Stamford, Connecticut. "It implies that maybe things are not as bad as the market is telling us."
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 36.48 points, or 0.41 percent, at 8,834.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.44 points, or 0.48 percent, at 914.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 8.22 points, or 0.51 percent, at 1,608.52. (Reporting by Kristina Cooke; Editing by Jan Paschal)