Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae cut losses on Dodd comments

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Freddie Mac (FRE.N) briefly turned positive on Friday and those of Fannie Mae (FNM.N) sharply pared their losses after Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said the two government-sponsored mortgage giants were fundamentally sound.

Freddie Mac shares were last down 9.4 percent at $7.25 on the New York Stock Exchange, where the stock earlier plunged as low as $3.89.

Fannie Mae was down 24.8 percent at $9.97 on the NYSE, where the stock earlier slid as low as $6.87.

(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Tom Hals)