NEW YORK, May 6 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes swung lower Tuesday after domestic and foreign financial giants announced first quarter write-downs.

Swiss bank UBS announced it would cut 5,500 jobs after write-downs of $19 billion in the first quarter. The Federal National Mortgage Association (OTCPK:FDRNP), known as Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM), said it would reduce common stock dividends after a first quarter net loss of $2.2 billion.

In midmorning trading Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 93.23 points to 12,876.31, off 0.72 percent. The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell 8.56 points to 1,398.93, off 0.61 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell 10.35 points to 2,453.77, off 0.42 percent.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 14/32 to yield 3.818 percent.

The euro traded at $1.5558 from Friday's $1.5488 and the dollar traded at 104.23 yen from Friday's 104.84 yen.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 78.18 points to 26,262.13, up 0.3 percent Tuesday.

In Japan, the stock market was closed Tuesday.

Politicians vie for gas tax relief

WASHINGTON, May 6 (UPI) -- U.S. presidential hopefuls and lawmakers in several states are calling for suspension of gasoline taxes but it's unclear if such action would benefit drivers.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has proposed a 10-cent-per-gallon tax break for two weeks in July, while lawmakers in New York, Missouri and Texas have also toyed with the idea of providing temporary gas tax relief, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported Tuesday.

Presumptive GOP nominee for president Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Democratic hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., have proposed summer long breaks on the 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama and many economists have denounced the idea as a gimmick.

Retailers haven't passed previous gas tax relief in full to consumers, the Times reported.

Indiana and Illinois suspended about 7 cents of their gas taxes in 2000 but prices at the pump declined by an average of 4 cents, the Times reported.

Swiss bank UBS to cut 5,500 jobs

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 6 (UPI) -- Swiss banking giant UBS announced Tuesday it would trim its workforce by 5,500 over the next year after reporting first-quarter losses of $10.9 billion.

The bank has lost $38 billion in write-downs since the subprime mortgage market began to collapse last summer, The New York Times reported Tuesday. In the first quarter of 2008, the bank was forced to write down $19 billion.

UBS Chief Executive Officer Marcel Rohner said the turnaround at the bank has already begun.

"We can see tangible effects as a result of our initial responses to the losses," Rohner said in a statement.

The bank said the job reductions would include 2,600 jobs in the investment banking unit, the Times reported.

Canadian building permits dip in March

OTTAWA, May 6 (UPI) -- The total value of building permits in Canada dropped 4.5 percent in March to $5.6 billion, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.

By sector, the value of residential building permits dell 5.7 percent to $3.6 billion, both in multi-family and single-family swellings, the agency said.

In the non-residential sector, building permits fell 2.4 percent to $2.0 billion, the lowest since April 2007.

The value of industrial permits plunged 21.9 percent to $318 million, the third decline in four months, StatsCan said.

The report said the value of permits in each of the three non-residential components has been on a downward trend since the last part of 2007 when construction intentions began to cool.