Stocks Tumble on Weak Data

Stocks fell more than they had in a week today amid reports of sluggish economic growth, rising jobless claims, and fears of failing banks, Bloomberg reports. The Dow fell 112.10 points to 12,582.18, the Nasdaq fell 22.21 points to 2,331.57, and the S&P 500 12.34 points to 1,367.68. The government said GDP grew by 0.6% last quarter, below analysts' estimates.

Adding to the host of bad fiscal indicators, Ben Bernanke told Congress in his second day of discussions on the economy that he expected some regional banks heavily invested in real estate to fail. "The realization of a weaker economy is starting to hit home," said a director for Morgan Keegan. (More Dow Jones stories.)