U.S. Stocks Fall on Worries about Europe's Economy

Stocks fell Thursday for the third day in a row after reminders that Europe has not solved its debt crisis and the U.S. economy is far from healed, despite progress on both fronts.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 58 points in early trading to 13,069. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 fell nine points to 1,397. The Nasdaq composite index fell 15 to 3,090.

The declines came despite incrementally good news about the U.S. economy. The government said that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits last week dropped by 5,000 to about 359,000, the lowest since April 2008

The government also said that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3 percent in the fourth quarter, which met analysts' expectations and was the fastest pace since spring 2010.

But there was reason for concern, too: The government also said that many more people than it originally estimated filed unemployment claims in recent months. And economists believe the country's growth has slowed to about 1.5 percent.

European markets fell across the board, despite a report from Germany that its unemployment rate fell slightly over the month. The benchmark stock index was down 1.9 percent in Germany and 1.3 percent apiece in France and Britain.

Though Greece is no longer on the brink of default, deep problems remain for the continent, where stronger countries are arguing that they shouldn't have to bail out weaker ones.

In Spain, workers took to the streets to protest government spending cuts, underscoring the difficulty that governments will have in reining in overblown spending.

The price of oil fell 65 cents per barrel in New York to $104.73. France's prime minister said there's a "good chance" the U.S. and Europe will release oil reserves, which could drive down prices by adding supply.

President Barack Obama was expected later Thursday to call on Congress to end tax breaks for oil companies. The price of oil has doubled since October, and the price of gasoline has risen about 20 percent this year.

Among the stocks making big moves:

— Illumina, a diagnostics company, rose more than 4 percent to $52.06 after the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Group raised its offer for the company to $51 per share.

— Best Buy fell more than 6 percent after announcing plans for big spending cuts, including closing 50 of its big-box stores.

— JetBlue fell 8 percent, two days after passengers said a pilot came unhinged and forced a JetBlue flight to make an emergency landing on a flight from New York to Las Vegas.