NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street gave back some of its gains Tuesday as investors reassessed the market's strength a day after its biggest advance in five months.

Some pullback was to be expected after the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 498 points, or 6.8 percent, on Monday. Investors had extended a two-week rally as the government detailed a plan to take over up to $1 trillion in bad mortgage securities with the help of private investors. An unexpected rise in home sales also lifted traders' mood.

With little economic data to go on, investors will again be looking to Washington for direction. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are making a rare joint appearance at a congressional hearing to testify over bonuses at American International Group Inc.

They are also expected to face questions on details of the bad debt plan and are seeking greater power to safely dismantle big financial companies like AIG that pose risks to the economy. The hearing was set to begin at 10 a.m. EDT.

Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York, said investors are pleased by the moves out of the Treasury and Fed but that they will need to see more signs that the economy is improving for the market to hold onto the gains. He said renewed worries about trouble spots like unemployment could shake investors.

"I can absolutely expect some profit-taking here," Orlando said. "We are treating this cautiously as we recognize that there are still some storm clouds on the horizon."

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 95.18, or 1.2 percent, to 7,680.68.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 12.82, or 1.6 percent, to 810.10, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 18.99, or 1.2 percent, to 1,536.78.

On Monday, the Dow and the S&P 500 posted their biggest percentage gains since Oct. 28. The market's reaction to the announcement was a departure from last month, when stocks tumbled after Geithner announced the bad asset program but offered few details about how it would work. Stocks tumbled at that time, sending the Dow down by more then 380 points.