Max Bublitz, chief strategist at SCM Advisors in San Francisco, said the United States should follow the lead of the Europeans, whom he said were proving to be more adroit in their response. Markets, he said, will remain unsettled until policy makers take concrete steps to shore up banks.

“We still need to see some of these capital injections actually occurring and see what impact it has on balance sheets, and does it attract other capital from sovereign wealth funds and others,” Mr. Bublitz said.